It sounds like a practical joke from a fratboy comedy. But the boss of the film producer National Lampoon has been charged with fraud over a crude attempt to fiddle his company's share price.
Prosecutors in the US have accused Daniel Laikin, chief executive of National Lampoon, of masterminding a scheme involving secret press releases and money wired from a Las Vegas bank. Along with six henchmen, Laikin, 46, allegedly manipulated the value of stock in National Lampoon, which is known for its quirky Animal House and Vacation films as well as for a string of comedy websites and cable television channels.
He was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday as part of an investigation by the FBI, the securities and exchange commission and the US attorney's office in Philadelphia. "These defendants all sought to defraud the investing public through their manipulative conduct by artificially inflating the stocks to make them appear more valuable than they were," said prosecutor Laurie Magid.
Laikin is accused of providing advance copies of press releases to contacts who made carefully timed stock purchases, artificially boosting the apparent value of shares. Laikin, who allegedly wanted to raise the value of his 40% stake by millions of dollars, wired kickbacks from a Las Vegas bank account.
Trading in National Lampoon's shares was suspended on the American Stock Exchange. If convicted, Laikin faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.