Charter Communications Guilty Plea

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri announced today that David G. Barford, the former Chief Operating Officer of Charter Communications Inc., a large cable company controlled by Paul Allen, has pled guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and will cooperate in the government's investigation. Barford admitted to participating in a "scheme to defraud Charter's stockholders by reporting to the public artificially inflated numbers of paying subscribers." Four Charter officers were indicted in July 2003 for wire fraud and conspiracy, including the former Chief Financial Officer and two senior vice presidents (indictment here). One of the senior VPs pled guilty in 2003 and is cooperating with the government. (ph)