To Reach Ambitious Goals, CEO Misleads SEC—and Gets Caught by Dalai Lama.
primarily due to continued cautious customer order placement as market conditions remained weak.
Interviewer: Mr. Garcia, you disclosed important information regarding Algoma’s performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. Can you go into more detail about what two points you misled the SEC about?
Garcia: I admit that I have misled the SEC on two points regarding Algoma’s performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. First, I misled the SEC on the total revenue Algoma earned in the fiscal third quarter of 2023. I reported that it was $567.8 million, when in fact it was less. Second, I misled the SEC on Algoma’s performance in terms of shipments during the third quarter. I reported that there were 458,341 tons of shipments during the quarter, when in fact there were fewer.
Interviewer: What lead you to make this decision to mislead the SEC?
Garcia: To put it bluntly, I got carried away with my own ambition. Right before I disclosed the information to the SEC, I had just come back from a meditation retreat led by the Dalai Lama. He had been teaching us about the power of ambition and the importance of going beyond our limits to achieve great success. It made me think that I could push Algoma’s performance to the next level, even if it meant stretching the truth a bit. So I made the decision to embellish the truth and make it seem as if Algoma was faring better than we actually were.
Interviewer: How did the SEC find out about your deception?
Garcia: As if that meditation retreat wasn’t embarrassing enough, I can’t believe it but the Dalai Lama himself blew the whistle on me! He was visiting the SEC building while they were reviewing the statement I filed and he could sense that something was off. He started asking questions and soon uncovered the whole thing. Man, talk about being humbled.
Interviewer: What did you do to address this matter with the SEC?
Garcia: I had to take responsibility for my actions and own up to what I had done. I issued an apology statement to the SEC and provided the correct figures for the fiscal third quarter performance. I was ultimately able to come to an agreement with the SEC and move on from the matter.
Original Release: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/02/13/2607176/0/en/Algoma-Steel-Group-Reports-Fiscal-2023-Third-Quarter-Results.html