Securities: Delta Execs Cleared in Options Scandal

Delta says that an internal investigation has cleared it and its executives of any backdating. A recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing said that Delta Petroleum's special board committee found "deficiencies in the documentation of (the company's) option grants in prior years," but said "there was no evidence of option backdating or other misconduct by our executives or directors in the timing or selection of our option grant dates." The committee concluded that no evidence from the investigation "would cause us to conclude that our prior accounting for stock option grants was incorrect in any material respect."

Delta clears execs in options scandal

Delta formed a special board committee to investigate the backdating allegations. The SEC opened an informal inquiry after the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York subpoenaed Delta Petroleum. In four of the last eight years, when Delta Petroleum had issued stock options to its top executives, it gave them with an exercise price equal to the stock's 52-week low. Delta faces a shareholder lawsuit against the options but has filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit.