Schwartzhoff, 43, of Odessa, Mo., agreed to pay restitution of nearly $395,000 as part of a guilty plea in federal criminal proceedings stemming from the Thor fraud, according to the SEC.
Schwartzhoff overstated Dutchmen’s pretax income by almost $27 million from fiscal year 2003 to the second quarter of fiscal 2007, according to the SEC. Schwartzhoff was fired in 2007. He agreed to pay almost $400,000 in penalties, according to court filings.
“Thor’s failure to maintain accurate books and records and adequate internal accounting controls violated a 1999 commission cease-and-desist-order,” the SEC said.
Under the settlement, Thor also must hire an independent consultant that’s acceptable to the SEC to review and evaluate “certain specified aspects of internal accounting controls over financial reporting and record-keeping policies” at each of the company’s subsidiaries and make recommendations on how to improve them. The company must hire the consultant within 30 days and make the recommendations within 90 days after the consultant’s hiring, the company said Friday.
Thor and Schwartzhoff, who was fired in February 2007, didn’t admit or deny the SEC’s allegations in agreeing to the settlement, which came after a four-year review of the company by the government. Chief Executive Peter Orthwein didn’t immediately return a phone call seeking comment Friday.
With sales of $2.48 billion in fiscal 2010, Thor bills itself as the world’s largest manufacturer of RVs and a major builder of commercial buses and ambulances. It had sales of $2.48 billion in fiscal 2010.
On May 3, it announced sales of $849 million for the quarter ending April 30, up 25 percent from the same quarter last year.
The SEC started its review in 2007 after the company restated financial statements for 2005 and 2006, the company said. Thor said it cooperated fully with the SEC.
Following the settlement announcement, Thor’s stock closed at $32.26 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 50 cents.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2264 or tbeyerlein@DaytonDailyNews.com.