Rich-Hunt: The Backdated Options Frenzy and the Ordeal of Greg Reyes

Rich-Hunt: The Backdated Options Frenzy and the Ordeal of Greg ReyesRich Hunt is the most comprehensive study to date of the interaction of business, law, and journalism in the backdated options episode. It is a case study of prosecutorial misconduct and the tendency of the media to be an echo chamber for accusations against businesses. But it is first and foremost the story of a man who excelled in business achievement. Greg Reyes rose rapidly in the world of high tech to become CEO of Brocade at 36 and increased its

Rich-Hunt is the most comprehensive study to date of the interaction of business, law, and journalism in the backdated options episode. It is a case study of prosecutorial misconduct and the tendency of the media to be an echo chamber for accusations against businesses. But it is first and foremost the story of a man who excelled in business achievement. Greg Reyes rose rapidly in the world of high tech to become CEO of Brocade at 36 and increased its revenues twenty-fold within three yearsÑonly to be felled by a miscarriage of justice.
In this deeply researched work, Donway shows how Reyes became the victim first of a board made fearful by the power of regulators; then of a frenzied media attack on backdated options; and, finally, of prosecutors who charged him with fraud. Despite the prosecutorsÕ failure to establish that someone was misled, the central point required for a charge of fraud, Reyes was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $15 million fine.