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September 5, 2008 12:06:24 PM CDT

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SEC Probes Yahoo Posts of Whole Foods CEO

Posted Jul 14, 07 3:59 PM CDT in US,  Business 

(Newser) – John Mackey, the Whole Foods CEO who posted attacks on a competitor in Yahoo financial forums, is under scrutiny by the SEC for his anonymous mischief-making. The federal agency is informally investigating whether the posts violate "fair disclosure" rules. They could be a problem for Mackey if officials find that he was deliberately trying to manipulate Whole Foods stock.

Mackey had been posting rosy assessments of his own company's  performance over a seven-year period while disparaging Wild Oats Markets, using the moniker 'rahodeb,' an anagram for Deborah, his wife's name. The FTC has objected to a proposed Whole Foods buyout of Wild Oats on anti-trust grounds.

Source Washington Post

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A Whole Foods Market is shown in Portland, Maine, in this Feb. 7, 2007 file photo. Whole Foods Market Inc. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Wednesday, May 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach,...   (Associated Press)
Customers are seen outside a Whole Foods Market in Dallas, Wednesday, May 9, 2007. Whole Foods Market Inc. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Wednesday. (AP Photo/LM Otero)   (Associated Press)
A London policeman walks past the Whole Foods Market in London's Kensington High Street, west London Friday June 1, 2007. Whole Foods Market Inc., America's most successful organic supermarket chain,...   (Associated Press)
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CEO  • organic food  • Whole Foods  • Wild Oats  • John Mackey


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