UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Before the
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 49992 / July 9, 2004

ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING ENFORCEMENT
Release No. 2052 / July 9, 2004

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-11540

I.

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted against James Dean ("Dean" or "Respondent") pursuant to Rule 102(e)(3)(i) of the Commission's Rules of Practice.¹

II.

In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer of Settlement (the "Offer") which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission's jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of these proceedings, and the findings contained in Section III. 3 below, which are admitted, Respondent consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Rule 102(e) of the Commission's Rules of Practice, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions ("Order"), as set forth below.

III.

On the basis of this Order and Respondent's Offer, the Commission finds that:

1. Dean, age 34, is a certified public accountant and has been licensed by the State of New York since 1998. He was a Senior Manager and Director of Operations Finance at Symbol Technologies, Inc. ("Symbol") from November 2000 until June 2003.

2. Symbol, a Delaware corporation with headquarters in Holtsville, New York, is engaged in the design, manufacture, marketing and servicing of integrated mobile and wireless information management systems utilizing bar code scanners and similar devices. Symbol's common stock is, and was at all times relevant to this proceeding, registered with the Commission pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

3. On June 3, 2004, the Commission filed a complaint against Dean and others in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleging that they violated provisions of the federal securities laws. On June 9, 2004, the court entered a partial final judgment permanently enjoining Dean, by consent, from violating Sections 10(b) and 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5 and 13b2-1 thereunder, and from aiding and abetting violations of Sections 13(a) and 13(b)(2) and Rules 12-20, 13a-1 and 13a-13 thereunder.

4. The Commission's complaint alleges, among other things, that Dean and others engaged in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate Symbol's reported financial results to create the false appearance that Symbol had met or exceeded its financial projections. As a result of the scheme, Symbol restated (i) selected financial data for 1998 and 1999, including revenue and net income; (ii) the annual financial statements for 2000 and 2001; and (iii) selected quarterly data, including revenue and net income, for 2001 and the first three quarters of 2002. As part of the fraudulent scheme, Dean and others employed a number of improper accounting practices that violated generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), including the manipulation of purported restructuring charges and reserves to boost earnings by reducing reported operating expenses and releasing unneeded reserves into income. Specifically, Symbol took multiple large non-recurring charges during the relevant period in connection with an acquisition and the purported relocation of its manufacturing operations. Due to the conduct of Dean and others, these charges improperly included numerous unrelated operating expenses and otherwise violated GAAP. Due to the conduct of Dean and others, Symbol also created a number of "cookie jar" reserves by overstating an inventory write-off and inflating accrued expenses when actual operating costs fell below the quarterly forecast. These excess reserves were reversed when necessary to increase earnings in future periods.

IV.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanction agreed to in Respondent Dean's Offer.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED, effective immediately, that Dean is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant.

By the Commission.

Endnotes

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¹Rule 102(e)(3)(i) provides in pertinent part as follows:

The Commission, with due regard to the public interest and without preliminary hearing, may, by order, . . . suspend from appearing or practicing before it any . . . accountant . . . who has been by name . . . permanently enjoined by any court of competent jurisdiction, by reason of his or her misconduct in an action brought by the Commission, from violating or aiding and abetting the violation of any provision of the Federal securities laws or of the rules and regulations thereunder.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-49992.htm