The SEC stated: "From 1998 through 2006, Research In Motion Limited ("RIM" or the "Company"), the maker of BlackBerry wireless devices, and four of its senior executives illegally granted undisclosed, in-the-money options to RIM executives and employees, by backdating approximately 1,400 stock option grants to coincide with historically low closing prices for the Company's stock. The executives failed to disclose that RIM was not recording material compensation expenses and was materially overstating its net income or understating its net losses. The illicit backdating provided the executives and other employees with millions of dollars in undisclosed compensation."

The SEC stated that: "[It] charged BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Limited (RIM) and four of its senior executives for stock option backdating."

On March 25, 2009, the Court issued a final judgment stating: "Defendants consented to the Court's jurisdiction over Defendants and the subject matter of this action; consented to entry of this Final Judgment without admitting or denying the allegations of the Complaint (except as to jurisdiction); waived findings of fact and conclusions of law; and waived any right to appeal from this Final Judgment."