Ex-Delphi chief must pay $215,000 in SEC case

DETROIT (AP) -- The former chief executive of auto-parts maker Delphi has been ordered to pay $215,000 for misrepresenting a financial transaction with General Motors back in 2000. The decision Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Avern Cohn, Eastern District of Michigan, comes months after a jury said J.T. Battenberg III was liable for bookkeeping errors and misrepresentations to accountants. Battenberg was cleared of more serious civil charges of financial fraud. The case centered on a $237 million transaction involving warranty costs with Delphi Corp.'s former parent, General Motors. The Securities and Exchange Commission claimed Delphi manipulated its earnings by concealing the GM transaction. The judge says Battenberg had the "least experience" in accounting matters among the Delphi employees who were aware of the misreporting. Cohn also ordered former Delphi accountant Paul Free to pay $118,500. Published: Thu, Nov 3, 2011