Emanuel Pinez, the CEO of Centennial Technologies, was accused of securities fraud after artificially inflating the company's revenues and profits between 1994-1996. Pinez had reported $2 million in revenue and $12 million in profits for 1996, but the company actually lost $28 million that year. When the fraud was uncovered, Centennial's stock price plunged from $55 per share to less than $3, wiping out $150-376 million for over 20,000 investors. Pinez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay $150 million in restitution. Centennial Technologies was delisted from stock exchanges and struggled to recover from the scandal.

1. Centennial Technologies Inc
Scam 1996
Presented by-
SHIFALI GARG

2. INTRODUCTION
Centennial Technologies, Inc
• Founded by Emanuel Pinez in 1987, Centennial makes
PC memory cards.
• The company went public in 1994 .
• As a global leader, Centennial integrates patented and
proprietary technology into application specific cards
for commercial, industrial and military markets.
• The company's international sales and service
operations are headquartered in the United Kingdom.
• It was once considered a Wall Street darling.

3. PERSONS INVOLVED
• Mr. Emanuel Pinez
• Former chief financial officer, James Murphy
• The company's auditor, Coopers & Lybrand

4. Emanuel Pinez
• He was the CEO of Centennial Technologies.
• He has homes in Canada, Switzerland and
suburban Boston.
• In 1996, on the strength of vigorous revenue
growth and alleged boasts by Pinez that a big
contract from AT&T was imminent, the stock
took off.
• Pinez's paper wealth was US$244 million.

5. SCAM
• In December 1996, Emanuel Pinez, the CEO of
Centennial Technologies, and his management
recorded that the company made $2 million in
revenue from PC memory cards .
• Emanuel Pinez was accused of trying to profit
from a decline in Centennial's stock by buying put
options and selling call options on the stock.
• On 11 February 1997 he was fired by the board of
his own company for allegedly falsifying
inventory reports and inflating sales figures.

6. Contd..
• On 15 February 1997 he was arrested by FBI
agents and sued by the Securities and
Exchange Commission for stock fraud.
• Between April 1994 and December
1996, Centennial overstated its earnings by
about $40 million.

7. Contd…
• The employees created fake documents to appear as
though they were recording sales.
• Centennial's stock rose 451% to $55.50 per share on the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
• According to the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), between April 1994 and December 1996,
Centennial overstated its earnings by about $40 million.
• Emanuel Pinez pleaded guilty to masterminding a huge
fraud that made his company's stock the top performer
on the New York Stock Exchange in 1996.

8. Contd…
• The company reported profits of $12 million
when it really lost about $28 million.
• The stock plunged to less than $3.
• Over 20,000 investors who lost $150 million
to $376 million.
• The firm's troubles became public in Feb 10
1997 when firm had fired former Chief
Executive Emanuel Pinez for misstating
financial results .

9. Contd..
• The court sentenced the Pinez to five years in
prison for stock fraud .
• And ordered him to make restitution of almost
$150 million by liquidating all his assets.
• Among other misdeeds, Pinez is accused of
engineering phony sales transactions to boost
Centennial's revenues.
• In one infamous scheme, Centennial allegedly
shipped fruit baskets to customers to create
fake shipping documents.

10. • Centennial's stock began to sink in January
1997 when questions emerged about Pinez's
academic credentials and the company's
financial reports.
• As the stock plunged, Pinez's brokers
conducted an options trade on his behalf aimed
at profiting from the fall in Centennial's stock
price.

11. AFTER THE SCAM
• Centennial Technologies Inc. stock plunged
76% .
• Centennial, the top performer on the NYSE
will be off the Big Board and every other
major U.S. stock exchange .
• Centennial had to pay out $1.475 million in
cash and give up 37 percent of its stock to
settle dozens of shareholder suits.

12. • The company is now battling back under new
management and has reported four
consecutive profitable quarters.
• But the damage allegedly engineered by Pinez
was severe.

13. THANKYOU