Judge Lowers Boom on Yuen

Three months after Henry Yuen was found liable for securities fraud in a suit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles ordered the former Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. CEO to pay $22.3 million in fines Monday.

Yuen’s troubles began in April 2002, when Gemstar disclosed that it had recognized $107.6 million in revenue from Scientific Atlanta Inc. -- money Gemstar had hoped eventually to collect in a patent suit.

The SEC sued Yuen, former Gemstar chief financial officer Elsie Leung and former co-chief operating officer Peter Boylan later that year, alleging that Gemstar overstated and misreported $248 million in revenue, partly through booking revenue through disputed or nonexistent agreements and through “round-trip” transactions.

Leung settled her SEC case in February, agreeing to pay $1.35 million in fines. Boylan settled his case in 2004, agreeing to pay $600,000 in penalties.