Rich-Hunt: The Backdated Options Frenzy and the Ordeal of Greg Reyes

Rich-Hunt is the most comprehensive study yet of the interaction of business, law, and journalism in the backdated options episode. It is a case study of prosecutorial misconduct and the media’s tendency to be an echo chamber for accusations against businesses. But it is primarily the story of a man who excelled in business achievement. Greg Reyes became CEO of Brocade at 36 and increased its revenues twenty-fold within three years—only to be felled by a miscarriage of justice. In this deeply researched work, Donway shows how Reyes became the victim first of a board made fearful by the power of regulators; then of a frenzied media attack on backdated options; and, finally, of prosecutors who charged him with fraud. Despite the prosecutors’ failure to establish that someone was misled, the central point required for a charge of fraud, Reyes was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Rich-Hunt includes an introduction by Greg Reyes and a foreword by David Kelley.