Defendant Name:
Marrone Bio Innovations
Defendant Type:
Public Company
SIC Code:
9999
CUSIP:
57165B10
Document Reference:
comp-pr2016-32-mbi
Document Details
Legal Case Name
SEC v. Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc.
Document Name
Complaint
Document Date
17-Feb-2016
Document Format
Civil Proceeding
Case Number
16-cv-00321
Federal District Court
California, Eastern District of California
Federal District Judge
Morrison C. England, Jr.
Allegation Type
Issuer Reporting and Disclosure
Document Summary
In the Complaint, the SEC stated: "This case involves a financial reporting fraud at Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. ('MBI' or the 'Company'), a Davis, California based company that manufactures and markets agricultural products and went public in August 2013. As the result of a scheme by the Company's Chief Operating Officer and head of sales Hector M. Absi, Jr., MBI deceived investors into thinking that it was a thriving, growing business that was achieving increases in revenue year-over-year. Beginning in March 2013, at Absi's direction, MBI offered its distributors various sales concessions, primarily the right to return any unsold product, in order to ensure MBI met its projection that it would double its revenue in 2013. Absi concealed these concessions from MBI's finance and accounting personnel, leading the Company to recognize revenue on these transactions contrary to applicable accounting principles and the Company's stated revenue recognition policies."