By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis – The former Chief Financial Officer of Engineered Support Systems has been indicted on 10 counts of securities fraud.
Gary Gerhardt of St. Charles is accused of backdating stock options at the company.
Engineered Support Systems' DRS Sustainment Systems, a manufacturer of military support equipment, is headquartered in St. Louis.
The indictment alleges that Gerhardt and others at Engineered Support Systems defrauded the company and its shareholders by backdating stock options on at least eight occasions between 1996 and 2002.
According to the indictment, this practice of backdating stock options diluted shareholders profits and deprived the public of accurate information regarding the company's earnings and its executives' compensation.