The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has permanently barred James Koenig, a former chief financial officer (CFO) of Waste Management, North America’s biggest recycler, after a jury found that he breached 60 securities laws in a five-year period.

The judgment followed an 11-week jury trial in 2006 which resulted in a verdict in Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)'s favor against Koenig on all charges. Justice Wayne Andersen ordered him to pay more than $US4m (₤2m) in return for his ill-gotten gains, prejudgement interest and civil penalties.

The commission alleged that, between 1992 and 1997, Koenig and others engaged in a systematic scheme to falsify and misrepresent Waste Management's financial results, overstating profits by $US1.7bn.

According to SEC’s complaint, the scheme was accomplished through false and misleading disclosures and a variety of non-GAAP accounting practices designed to defer current period expenses whenever possible.

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