Who Can You Trust? Lies and Deception at Adelphia
Former Adelphia Communications Corp. vice president of finance James Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, November 14. Mr. Brown has agreed to provide additional information on his co-defendants, Adelphia’s founding Rigas family.
Although Brown claimed he was innocent when first indicted he has now changed his tune and admits that he and other company executives agreed to make false statements misrepresenting Adelphia’s finances, earnings and number of cable subscribers. He also admitted that he and other executives attended a meeting with representatives of credit-rating agency Moody’s Investors Service Jan. 18, 2002, and made false statements that were 'intended to mislead banks that had established credit facilities with Adelphia and its subsidiaries.'
He further admitted that he and other executives also helped to manipulate Adelphia’s earnings to make it appear as if the company was in compliance with its credit agreements 'when, in fact, it was not.'
Brown faces a maximum of 45 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. He has already agreed to surrender his BMW, two parcels of real estate and $45,000 cash as partial restitution.
