News

The SEC has received a court order freezing the assets of Paul R. Beckwith, a 37-year old Layton, Utah, CPA, after accusing him of transferring millions of dollars from Theradoc, a company that employed him as assistant controller, to an account controlled by his CPA firm. He is also accused of investing the money in his own accounts and of altering Theradoc bank records to cover up the diversion.

TRACY, Calif. - Petz Enterprises, which markets the CrossLink professional tax line for high-volume retail tax offices, has opened a Southeast regional office in Rome, Ga. It's the second regional office the California company has opened in the last 22 months.

The SEC has established a proposed Fair Fund plan via which disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties will be distributed to those who claim they suffered losses from the purchase of variable annuities sold fraudulently by GilmanCiocia, subsidiary Prime Capital Services and four representatives. CEO Michael Ryan and Chief Compliance Officer Rose Rudden have been barred from supervisory capacity in any broker dealer or investment advisor for one year in the same case.

A broad-based change to Paychex's product bundling and pricing is on the way over the next week, founder and chairman Tom Golisano said in this morning's Webast of results for the first quarter ended August 31. And although results were better than expected, Golisano outlined a plan that he said is necessary to counter the deterioration of sales close rates, to make the company more competitive than it has been in the last few years and to look into international expansion.