The Securities and Exchange Commission

[Stock]

34-55887 Jun. 8, 2007 Raymond L. Mathiasen, CPA
Other Release No.: AAER-2615
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2007/34-55887.pdf

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
before the
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 55887 / June 8, 2007
ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING ENFORCEMENT
Release No. 2615 / June 8, 2007
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-12655
:
:
:
In the Matter of : ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE
: PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO RULE RAYMOND L. MATHIASEN, CPA : 102(e) OF THE COMMISSION’S RULES OF
: PRACTICE, MAKING FINDINGS, AND
Respondent. : IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS
:
:
____________________________________ :
I.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate and in the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted against Raymond L. Mathiasen (“Respondent” or “Mathiasen”) pursuant to Rule 102(e)(3)(i) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice.1
1 Rule 102(e)(3)(i) provides, in relevant part, that:
The Commission, with due regard to the public interest and without preliminary hearing, may, by order, . . . suspend from appearing or practicing before it any . . . accountant . . . who has been by name . . . permanently enjoined by any court of competent jurisdiction, by reason of his or her misconduct in an action brought by the Commission, from violating or aiding and abetting the violation of any provision of the Federal securities laws or of the rules and regulations thereunder.
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II.
In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer of Settlement (the “Offer”) which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission’s jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of these proceedings, and the findings contained in Section III.3. below, which are admitted, Respondent consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant to Rule 102(e) of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, Making Findings, and Imposing Remedial Sanctions (“Order”), as set forth below.
III.
On the basis of this Order and Respondent’s Offer, the Commission finds that:
1. Mathiasen is a resident of Los Angeles, California and was the former chief accounting officer of Tenet Healthcare Corporation (“Tenet”). Mathiasen joined Tenet (then known as National Medical Enterprises) in 1985 as a vice president in its accounting department. He became Tenet’s chief accounting officer in March 1996. He remained in that position until at least November 2002. Mathiasen retired from Tenet in April 2004. Mathiasen has been licensed as a CPA in California since 1969. His license is currently inactive.
2. Tenet is a Nevada corporation with its principal executive offices in Dallas, Texas. During the relevant time period, Tenet maintained its principal executive offices in Santa Barbara, California. Tenet is one of the largest publicly traded healthcare companies in the United States.
3. On April 2, 2007, the Commission filed a complaint against Mathiasen in SEC v. Tenet Healthcare Corp., et al., in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (the “Court”) (Civil Action No. CV 07-2144 RGK (AGRx)). On April 16, 2007, the Court entered a Final Judgment Of Permanent Injunction And Other Relief Against Defendant Raymond L. Mathiasen (“Judgment”) which (a) permanently enjoins Mathiasen from future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), and Rules 10b-5 and 13b2-1 thereunder, and aiding and abetting violations of Sections 13(a) and 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act, and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, and 13a-13 promulgated thereunder; (b) orders Mathiasen to pay $1 in disgorgement and a $240,000 civil penalty; and (c) prohibits Mathiasen from acting as an officer or director of any issuer that has a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, or that is required to file reports pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act for a period of five years. Mathiasen consented to the entry of the Judgment without admitting or denying any of the allegations in the complaint.
4. The Commission alleged that Mathiasen participated in a fraudulent scheme, in which Tenet made misleading disclosures in the Form 10-K that it filed with the Commission for its year ended May 31, 2002 and in the Form 10-Q that it filed with the
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Commission for Tenet’s first quarter of its fiscal year 2003 ending August 30, 2002. Mathiasen signed each filing and substantially participated in the preparation of these filings. Mathiasen also knew, or was reckless in not knowing, that each filing was misleading because it failed to disclose the material impact that Tenet’s increases in gross charges was having on the company’s Medicare outlier revenue, and thereby on its earnings. The complaint further alleged that Mathiasen authorized improper manual adjustments to Tenet’s contractual allowance reserve accounts from fiscal year 2000 through fiscal year 2003, in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. As a result of Mathiasen’s conduct, Tenet had to restate its financial statements from fiscal year 2000 through fiscal year 2004.
IV.
In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanction agreed to in Respondent’s Offer.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED, effective immediately, that:
Mathiasen is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant.
By the Commission.
Nancy M. Morris
Secretary