SEC Charges Ernst & Young and Former CFO and Controller For Roles in Accounting Violations at Bally Total Fitness

Former CFO and Controller of Bally Total Fitness were charged with violating the anti-fraud provisions, and aiding and abetting violations of the reporting, record keeping and internal controls of the securities laws. These materially false and misleading statements portrayed Bally’s financial condition and its performance better than it actually was. Ernst and Young and six current or former partners were also charged with knowing or failing to discover Bally’s fraudulent accounting practices. The settlement was one of the highest ever paid by an acccounting firm.