SEC charges Integrated Silicon with options fraud

WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday it charged Integrated Silicon Solution Inc. (ISSI.O) and its former chief financial officer with stock options backdating fraud.

The SEC alleges that the memory chip designer and Gary Fischer concealed millions of dollars of stock option compensation expenses by providing executives and employees with potentially lucrative options while backdating the grants to avoid reporting the expenses.

Fischer and ISSI have settled without admitting or denying the charges. Fischer has agreed to pay a total of $539,830 to settle the case and has been barred for five years from acting as an officer or director of a public company. (Reporting by Rachelle Younglai)