The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week filed charges against Glen Leibowitz, a New York-licensed certified public accountant (CPA) and the former chief financial officer (CFO) of Acreage Holdings, Inc., for allegedly lying to Acreage’s auditor and falsifying Acreage’s accounting records.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Leibowitz’s violations arise from a round-trip transfer of cash between Acreage and an affiliated entity that temporarily increased Acreage’s year-end 2019 cash balance on its internal accounting records. With Leibowitz’s alleged knowledge and participation, Acreage caused the affiliated entity to transfer approximately $4.2 million into Acreage’s bank account in December 2019, with the understanding that Acreage would return the same amount at the beginning of the new year, which it did in January 2020.
The complaint further alleges that Leibowitz was responsible for Acreage’s accounting staff’s creation of journal entries that mischaracterized the round-trip transaction, first as a repayment of debt owed by the affiliate, and later as a short-term loan from the affiliate to Acreage.
After employees’ concerns about the transaction were escalated to a member of Acreage’s board of directors, Leibowitz allegedly directed accounting staff to record an additional journal entry that effectively reversed the transaction. The complaint also alleges that during the audit of Acreage’s fiscal year 2019 financial statements, Leibowitz misrepresented and omitted material facts about the round-trip cash transfer in written and oral statements he made to the accounting firm conducting the audit, including in Acreage’s management representation letter.
The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, civil monetary penalties, and a conduct-based injunction.
