After the SEC more or less cleared Apple of those pesky backdating charges and a California court dismissed a shareholder class-action lawsuit accusing the company of improper accounting procedures, it looked like the good times were over, but fear not: another institutional investor has filed suit against Apple alleging the company cooked the books. The Boston Retirement Board filed suit in the Santa Clara County Superior Court, saying that it has investigated the matter and turned up even more evidence, which it can't reveal until the court decides how to handle confidential information. All it will say is that it has proof that "all of Apple's directors were aware of and participated in the backdating scheme," which isn't really new news -- and we're wondering what new information could have turned up that the SEC didn't find in its lengthy, much-watched investigation. Still, it looks like this is the story that won't go away -- anyone ready for some more hot accounting nights?

The twisted tale of Apple's backdated stock options drew closer to its final chapter today, with a California judge dismissing the shareholder class-action lawsuit against the company over the allegedly improper accounting procedures. Unlike the SEC, which essentially cleared Apple, the court didn't rule one way or another on the actual backdating issue, but instead found that since Apple's stock price didn't suffer, there was no injury to the shareholders, and thus no basis for the lawsuit. That ruling leaves the door open for a second, amended lawsuit to be filed as part of another proceeding, but for right now, it looks like the only real fallout from the whole mess was the birth of Fake Steve -- and for that, we're not sorry one whit.

[Via AppleInsider]

It's not easy being Steve Jobs. When you're not jet-setting around the world, introducing your disappointing EDGE-only iPhone to the European market, you're getting subpoenaed by US securities regulators over a lawsuit concerning stock option backdating. According to reports, El-Jobso has been called in for the US Securities and Exchange's case against former Apple general counsel Nancy Heinen over backdating option grants to Jobs and other executives. Apparently, Heinen is looking for 45 depositions for the case, though the SEC is hoping to limit that to 12 (per party). SEC lawyers are claiming that Heinen and former Apple Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson (of Elevation Partners fame) backdated more than $20 million in stock options in 2001 for Jobsy, themselves, and other executives. Anderson -- who's already paid $3.5 million in fines -- claims he was given permission by Jobs himself to backdate the options. An internal Apple review claims it found two questionable stock options awarded to Jobs, but found no wrongdoing on his part. For Jobs' sake, let's hope he stays out of the slammer -- a pretty face like that won't last long on the inside.

[Thanks, Randall]

In a remarkably candid and defensive statement issued today by key members of Apple's board of directors (including Eric Schmidt and Al Gore -- heard of 'em?), apparently, "We are not going to enter into a public debate with Fred Anderson or his lawyer." It goes on to say:

"Steve Jobs cooperated fully with Apple's independent investigation and with the government's investigation of stock option grants at Apple. The SEC investigated the matter thoroughly and its complaint speaks for itself, in terms of what it says, what it does not say, who it charges, and who it does not charge. We have complete confidence in the conclusions of Apple's independent investigation, and in Steve's integrity and his ability to lead Apple."

Kind of sounds like Steve just wrote it on his iPhone and sent it on over, right? Anywho, no real updates from the SEC since yesterday's allegations that Steve was behind the whole backdating scandal, but it looks like Cupertino Co. are getting off without sanctions and Jobs still lies in legal limbo for the time being, despite Apple's wholehearted support of their Jobs-in-Chief.

It seems that the scandal related to Apple backdating stock options has gotten a little more serious. According to the Financial Times, in 2001 Steve Jobs was granted 7.5 million stock options without the proper authorization of Apple's board of directors, and it now appears that someone falsified board meeting records to make it look as if Jobs had received authorization for the grant. The Securities and Exchange Commission is weighing whether to take action against Apple and/or any of the individuals involved, though whether Jobs himself might potentially be in any legal hot water is unclear. Jobs returned all granted options to Apple before exercising them, which perhaps explains why the company issued a statement in October saying that an internal investigation had cleared him of any wrongdoing (the company did force a former CFO from its board). Whether the SEC decides to go after Apple, Jobs or anyone else at the company remains to be seen, but the FT notes that plenty of other CEOs have resigned in the wake of similar backdating scandals. You could argue that given how well Apple's stock has done over the past year that even shareholders who feel cheated by what happened would rather own stock in a company helmed by Jobs than one without him, but rules are rules and if turns out that anyone at Apple broke the law it's unlikely that the Feds will go easy on them.

[Thanks, nightryder21 and todd]