Dell settles with SEC for $100 million, moseys off into sunset
By Ross Miller 
posted July 22nd 2010 7:11PM
posted July 22nd 2010 7:11PM
Looks like Dell might finally be at peace with the US Securities and Exchange Commission -- for now at least. The company has announced that it's reached a settlement for "alleged omissions prior to Fiscal 2008" regarding both its relation with Intel and some accounting this-and-that. In a nutshell, Dell was receiving payments from Intel (who had some nasty payouts of its own) to not use AMD chips, which the company didn't disclose to investors, and then failed to explain why profitability dropped once the payments stopped coming in. Remember that $100 million set aside in June for such a civil monetary penalty? Yep, this is exactly what it was for, and it's exactly what Dell is paying out. Additionally, CEO Michael Dell is paying $4 million out of pocket. Lesson learned, right guys?
I could use half of that money...
*goes back to dreaming about what he would do with that much money*
Ouch.
*whishes I had $100M in my "rainy day" fund*
$4 mil to a CEO ... chump change ... bankrupt those evil bastards.
@SeanBest I'm pretty sure that even Bill Gates would be pretty pissed if he were fined $4 mil. Well, not if he made $50 mil from the shit he was being fined for. Dell probably made mad bank on that douchey deal.
Wow I've lost even more respect for Dell.
YES! For a change money comes directly from at least one of the CEO/board members that made the decision and profited from "insert misdead against shareholders" instead of just taking a lump sum from the company.
Otherwise its like when you try to sue a police officer, nothing happens to the cop that did something wrong, and instead money is just taken from your innocent neighbors (via taxes) to compensate you.
Sell, sell, sell!
I think intell is more at fault. Poor and.
@Scrubs
AMD* my spell check on my phone screwed me over. My AMD hex core at home is a beast
And people say Apple is monopolizing the tech industry...
@Flustercuck
Well, technically Intel is the bad boy, Dell was just enjoying the benefits without reporting them.
Apple also clearly has a close relationship to Intel, and an exclusive contact as well. Not just using less AMD chips, but none whatsoever.
@Ducman69 Actually, taking bribes is as bad as giving bribes. They're all complicit.
@victorhooi
It wasn't what most people would consider a bribe. Partners were given discounted pricing if they didn't use AMD chips.
That may even be legal. AFAIK, the only reason anything stuck is because Dell didn't report it.
@Ducman69
I don't see how that isn't monopolistic behavior. This is something for Anti-Trust investigators.
@robotsongs I agree, it is, but for intel, not its customers getting the discount.
Sneaky bastards.
Sooner or later they all get caught.
"If you have to pay $4 million out of your pocket to SEC, you blew it."
So if intel pays dell to only use intel chips , its against the law.
If apple has an Iphone with ATT and you buy the phone in full or complete contract you are not allowed to unlock it
Which is the same as a company paying another to keep the consumer from having a choice, right?
Keep in mind in the usa even if you complete your contract with a cell carrier (ATT) they will refuse to factory unlock your iphone
@Hydra It isn't about paying a company to be exclusive, it is about not disclosing it to investors and never explaining where the money came from, and why it stopped. They were hiding business practices.
@Hydra Or more directly, Apple also was surely enjoying a discount with their exclusive Intel partnership.
The real demon here is Intel, and the real victim AMD.
Pocket money...
so maybe we'll start seeing some Vosotros and other stupidly-named Dell products to come with AMD chips?
then i can still not buy them.
in other news, Dell reassures us that those
responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked
have been sacked.
Intel: "Money well spent."
Its intel that is being anticompetetive here ... not dell ... wtf?
AMD sucks anyways, sounds like Dell got a good deal!
*ducks his head as all the AMD loyalists throw bottles*
@xler8r
Cummon you know better. At the time this crap was goin down, AMD was wiping the floor with Intel. AMD needed to get into the Dell lineup to get the revenue they deserved with a superior product. Had they had this revenue they'd be a much more viable competitor having funds to further accelerate their products.
@xler8r RABBLE! Rabble rabble rabble!
@xler8r
gotta love how intel fanboys hate competition
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Hmmm
this is not a minor accounting fraud. I am familiar with the tactics that intel used over the years to intimidate AMD and their chips and they used dell to assault AMD. Had dell not committed this fraud, there would have been more level competition amongst the heavy weights - HP/Dell/IBM etc all who could not compete because dell was taking bribes not to use AMD chips. THese discounts (or rebates) allowed dell to sell computers at the cost price or lower than the other heavy weights - even forcing some out of business, and keeping AMD out of many markets - even at at times when amd was selling superior products at lower prices. Had these crimes not been committed the computer industry would have been much different - AMD would have been a stronger company (who today is struggling - most likely due to these crimes) - having gotten two windows of opportunity to gain market share which was thwarted by the intel/dell collusion and in the process - destroy the competition. IMHO they got off very easiloy 4M$ fines are nothing, they should make jail time and pay significantly higher fines.