Ex-ArthroCare executive sentenced to 20 years in prison (Reuters)
A U.S. judge sentenced the former chief executive of surgical device maker ArthroCare to 20 years in prison and its finance chief to 10 years after a jury convicted the pair of orchestrating a $750 million securities fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday.
A federal judge in Austin, Texas, sentenced former CEO Michael Baker to 20 years, and former CFO Michael Gluk to 10 years. The government had request a 30-year prison term for Baker and 20 years for Gluk.
Two other ArthroCare executives who had pleaded guilty to felonies in 2013 and cooperated in the government's investigation, were also sentenced on Friday to five or more years in prison.
"Earlier today, in federal court in Austin, Texas, we witnessed the culmination of an epic tale of greed," said Marshall Miller, a senior official in the Justice Department's criminal division.
The top executives were found guilty of inflating sales and revenue figures for the company through end-of-quarter deals with some of the company's distributors between 2005 through 2009.
Earlier this year the Austin-based company agreed to pay a $30 million penalty an...
