Report: Ex-Motorola CFO claims company inflated forecasts
Paul Liska, who left Motorola in February, is reportedly suing the company claiming it fired him when he tried to report inflated forecasts to upper management.
Former Motorola CFO Paul Liska has alleged in court filings that Motorola deliberately overinflated forecasts for its mobile division, and fired him after he tried to complain.
BusinessWeek was able to obtain court documents from Illinois state court filed by Liska, who is suing Motorola for allegedly firing him in an attempt to silence him, as well as breach of contract. In the documents, Liska says he grew concerned that Motorola's mobile device group was dramatically overestimating its financial forecasts for 2009 despite pessimistic internal forecasts.
In a response filed with the court, Motorola basically said Liska was making the whole thing up in an attempt to extract money from the company, calling him a "treacherous officer," according to BusinessWeek. Motorola declined to comment to BusinessWeek on the Liska's allegations beyond what was stated in the court documents.
It certainly has been a rocky year for Motorola's mobile device group. In 2008, the company announced plans to sell the group, but couldn't find a buyer, and has basically put that plan on hold as the economy tanks. Meanwhile, handset development seems to have slowed to a crawl just as the smartphone industry heats up.