Monster Worldwide agrees to $2.5 million fine--SEC

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - Job recruiter Monster Worldwide Inc (MWW.N: Quote, Profile, Research), whose former CEO and president was convicted last week for a stock options backdating scheme, agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulator said on Monday.

The SEC said in a statement it charged the company for a scheme to secretly backdate stock options granted to thousands of company officers, directors and employees.

"Monster misled investors by failing to report hundreds of millions of dollars of expenses," said James Clarkson, Acting Regional Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. "Backdating stock options made the company look like it had more money than it really did."

Monster agreed to the fine without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, the regulator said. The company was required to restate its financial results for 1997 to 2005 in a cumulative pretax amount of about $339.5 million and to record additional non-cash charges for option related compensation expenses.

James Treacy, the former CEO and president of Monster Worldwide Inc was convicted by a jury in Manhattan federal court on May 12 of securities fraud and conspiracy in backdating option grants to employees.

A company spokesman could not be reached for comment on Monday. Last week, a company statement said the verdict against Treacy, "brings us closer to the end of an unfortunate chapter in the company's history and closer to putting the issue firmly behind us." (Reporting by Grant McCool; Editing by Andre Grenon)