Business & Tech

KPMG Partner In Securities Fraud Case Barred From Practicing As An Accountant

A Securities and Exchange Commission order announced Friday prohibits Scott London from practicing as an accountant on behalf of any publicly traded company or other entity regulated by the agency.

A former KPMG senior partner who admitted accepting bribes in exchange for passing confidential information about Southland-based companies Herbalife and Skechers USA has been barred from practicing as an accountant for any company regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

An SEC order announced Friday prohibits Scott London from practicing as an accountant on behalf of any publicly traded company or other entity regulated by the agency.

London, 50, of Agoura Hills, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud in July. He faces up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing hearing on Dec. 9 in Los Angeles federal court.

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Today's order is a result of London's settlement of a separate civil case brought by the SEC, with penalties to be set at a future date.

London admitted in a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to providing confidential information about KPMG clients to Shaw, a close friend, over a period of several years.

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Shaw, 52, of Lake Sherwood, used the information to make more than a dozen highly profitable securities trades that he said brought him nearly $1.2 million in illegal proceeds.

London was a senior auditing partner at KPMG who supervised more than 500 accounting professionals at the firm and personally handled audits for major KPMG clients, including Herbalife and Skechers.

As a result of his position, London had access to confidential information about KPMG's clients before that information was disclosed to the public.

In the plea agreement, London admitted that he disclosed inside information to Shaw regarding at least 14 separate earnings announcements or acquisitions for KPMG clients.

Shaw paid London with bundles of cash and also gave him a $12,000 Rolex watch.

Sentencing for Shaw, who pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy, is set for Nov. 18.

-- City News Service


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