United States v. Hyunjin Lerner

Closed Criminal Division Cases

United States v. Hyunjin Lerner
Court Docket No.: 1:17-cr-20235 (S.D. Florida)

Court Assigned: This case is assigned to Chief Judge K. Michael Moore, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr., U.S. Courthouse, 400 North Miami Ave., FL 33128.

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Criminal Charges: On March 28, 2017, Hyunjin Lerner, a former Vice President of Finance for Bankrate, Inc., a publicly traded financial services and marketing company, was indicted for his alleged participation in a complex accounting and securities fraud scheme.

Lerner is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, falsify a public company’s books, records, and accounts, and make false statements to a public company’s accountants; three counts of wire fraud; one count of securities fraud; four counts of false entries in a public company’s books, records and accounts; and three counts of false statements to a public company’s accountants. The indictment alleges that between 2011 and 2014, Lerner and his co-conspirators carried out a complex scheme to manipulate Bankrate’s financial statements and artificially inflate Bankrate’s earnings. According to the indictment, Lerner and his co-conspirators engaged in “cookie jar” or “cushion” accounting, whereby unsupported expense accruals were left on Bankrate’s books and then selectively reversed in later quarters to meet earnings goals. Lerner and his co-conspirators also allegedly misrepresented certain company expenses as “deal costs” in order to artificially inflate publicly reported adjusted earnings metrics, and allegedly booked hundreds of thousands of dollars in unsupported revenue in order to further inflate Bankrate’s reported revenue and earnings. The indictment further alleges that Lerner and his co-conspirators made materially false statements to conceal the improper accounting entries from Bankrate’s auditors, shareholders, and the investing public.

Lerner made his initial appearance on March 29, 2017, before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan of the Southern District of Florida.

On October 3, 2017, Hyunjin Lerner was charged in a superseding information with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, lying to the auditors of a publicly traded company, and falsifying the company’s books and records.  On the same date, Lerner entered a guilty plea to the charge in superseding information before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea M. Simonton.  Lerner is scheduled to appear for sentencing on January 11, 2018.

For more information about the charges, please see below:
Press Release – March 28, 2017
Indictment
Superseding Information

Victim Impact Statement: If you would like to submit a Victim Impact Statement (or a letter addressed to District Court Chief Judge Moore) you may do so by mailing the attached Victim Impact Statement (or a letter to District Court Chief Judge Moore) no later than December 15, 2017 to: Victim Witness Unit, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, Room 4416, Washington, DC 20530. You also may submit the Victim Impact Statement via email at Victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov or by fax at: (202) 514-3708.

Victim Impact Statement (PDF)
Victim Impact Statement (Fillable PDF)

The information on this website will be updated as new developments arise in the case. If you have any questions, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov.

Presumption of Innocence: It is important to keep in mind that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that presumption requires both the court and our office to take certain steps to ensure that justice is served.

Crime Victims’ Rights Act and Right to Retain Counsel: The Crime Victims’ Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771) applies only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus individuals may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which the individual is a victim was not charged. Section 377I(c)(2) of this Act requires that we advise you that you have the right to retain counsel. Although the statute specifically sets forth your right to seek advice of an attorney with regard to your rights under the statute, there is no requirement that you retain counsel. The Government may not recommend any specific counsel, nor can the Government (or the Court) pay for counsel to represent you. Government attorneys represent the United States.

If you elect to obtain counsel to represent your interests, please have your attorney notify this office in writing at: U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 10th & Constitution Avenue, NW, Bond Building, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20530, Attention: Victim Witness Unit; fax: (202) 514-3708; or email: victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. If you elect not to retain counsel to represent your interests, you do not need to do anything.

Plea Agreements: Please be aware that many criminal cases are resolved by plea agreement between the Department of Justice and the defendant. You should also know that it is not unusual for a defendant to seek to negotiate a plea agreement shortly before trial is scheduled to begin. Plea agreements can be made at any time and as late as the morning of trial, leaving little or no opportunity to provide notice to you of the date and time of the plea hearing. If the court schedules a plea hearing in this case, we will use our best efforts to notify you of available information as soon as practicable. If you want to inform the prosecutor of your views regarding potential plea agreements, or any other aspect of the case, please call the Victim Assistance Line toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or email us at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov, and we will put you in touch with the prosecutor.