On August 4, 2009, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges [PDF] against General Electric Co. (GE), resulting in GE agreeing to pay a $50 million settlement. The SEC accused GE of misleading investors by reporting false and misleading information in its financial statements. GE accounting executives allegedly approved accounting that did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles on four separate occasions. GE did not admit or deny the SEC's allegations, but agreed to pay $50 million and refrain from violating federal securities law. In a statement, GE said that the errors fell short of its standards, and it had implemented numerous remedial actions and internal control enhancements to prevent those errors from recurring.

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