Ex-Synchronoss CFO Agrees to Fine, Clawbacks in SEC Revenue Case

The former chief financial officer of Synchronoss Technologies Inc. agreed to pay nearly $556,000 in civil penalties and compensation clawbacks to settle SEC charges related to falsely inflating the company’s revenue.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday also barred Karen Rosenberger from practicing as an accountant before the Wall Street regulator. She was accused of misleading the software company’s auditors and improperly recognizing revenue for several transactions from 2013 to 2017.

Rosenberger consented to the final judgment without admitting to or denying the allegations. She was fined $125,000 by the SEC and will reimburse the company about $431,000.

Rosenberger also agreed to corporate officer and director bars as part of the settlement with the SEC.

Her lawyers did not respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.

Synchronoss previously agreed to pay more than $12 million to settle charges stemming from “accounting gimmicks” and misconduct of company executives that led to $190 million in restated revenue.

The SEC brought charges in 2022 against the New Jersey-based company, Rosenberger, and six other employees including former Controller Joanna Lanni. The initial complaint said Rosenberger “aided and abetted the Company’s public filing of materially false financial statements.”

Former Chief Executive Officer Stephen Waldis, who was not charged with misconduct, earlier agreed to return $1.3 million in stocks and other compensation. Five other employees agreed to settle related charges.

A pair of Ernst & Young LLP partners who led audits of the company’s financial statements also settled with the US audit regulator for failing to question Synchronoss’ accounting in 2021.

The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rosenberger et al, S.D.N.Y., 1:22 cv-04736, 6/14/24.