SEC Charges Manitex International and Three Former Senior Executives With Accounting Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Manitex International, Inc., a Bridgeview, Illinois manufacturer and distributor of cranes, forklifts and heavy equipment, and three of its former senior executives for two accounting fraud schemes that resulted in the issuance of materially misstated financial statements. According to the SEC’s orders, Manitex improperly accounted for and misled its outside auditor about nonexistent inventory. The orders find that in 2014, Andrew Rooke, the company’s former Chief Operating Officer, and Stephen Harrison, the former general manager of a Manitex subsidiary, created false inventory lists and shipping documents to cover up a $1.39 million inventory shortfall at another of Manitex’s subsidiaries.