DOJ charges ex-SafeNet CFO with backdating stock options By Katherine Hunt Last Update: 7:08 PM ET Jul 25, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Justice Department said late Wednesday it has charged a former chief financial officer of SafeNet Inc. with securities fraud and conspiracy in connection with the backdating of employee stock options grants. Between 2000 and 2006, Carole Argo and others routinely backdated options grants by papering them as if they had been issued on select historical "grant dates" when SafeNet's stock price had closed at or near a periodic low point, according to the indictment. Argo and her co-conspirators concealed from SafeNet's shareholders and auditors, among others, by failing to properly record and report, as required, the issuance of in-the-money options grants, the DOJ said. In May, Baltimore-based SafeNet, a provider of information security, agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by Vector Capital for $28.75 a share, or about $634 million. Corporate America: TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL Last seen: March 2000 Duh...should I buy stocks now or should I sell ?