TW Settles With SEC

Time Warner has agreed to pay $300 million to settle federal fraud charges for overstating online advertising revenues, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In return, Time Warner will neither admit nor deny the SEC’s allegations.

The company also agreed to restate its financial results to reduce the amount of reported online advertising revenues by $500 million from the fourth quarter of 2000 through 2002.

The dispute involves TW’s ill-fated merger with AOL; Time Warner made a separate settlement with the Department of Justice last year.