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Microsemi CEO never earned degrees, BYU says
December 10th, 2008, 10:39 am · 20 Comments · posted by John Gittelsohn
Peterson
James J. Peterson, the president and chief executive officer of Microsemi Corp., never earned a diploma from Brigham Young University, according to an official university document.
Peterson and other officials at Microsemi, an Irvine company that makes microchips, did not respond to requests for comment placed today and yesterday. Last week, Peterson denied he misrepresented his degrees in a Microsemi press release, saying he expected BYU to confirm his claims to have earned a bachelor’s degree and an MBA at the Provo, Utah, school. Also last week, Microsemi’s board issued a press release saying they stand behind the CEO.
An official “Verification of Enrollment” letter says: “No degrees awarded at BYU as of December 9, 2008.” The original document contains Peterson’s social security number, student identification number and date of birth. To see a copy of the document, CLICK HERE.
Peterson also serves on the board of STEC Inc., a Santa Ana chip making company. Another STEC board member, Vahid Manian, resigned last week after his claims of earning two degrees from UC Irvine proved untrue. Manian was also fired as a senior vice president of Broadcom after his academic credentials were shown to be false. STEC did not respond to requests for comment.
Questions about the academic claims of Peterson and Manian were first raised by Barry Minkow, whose San Diego firm, Fraud Discovery Institute, investigates the backgrounds of executives and short sells the stock when it discovers false claims on their record.
Minkow served seven years in prison for corporate fraud from 1988 to 1995.
“There’s an advantage to being a crook. You learn the law,” said Minkow, who said he has reported Peterson to the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging wire fraud and securities fraud for falsifying his credentials.
To see a YouTube video of Minkow discussing Peterson and Microsemi, CLICK HERE.
Related stories …
Microsemi board backs CEO accused of faking degrees
Broadcom exec fired, Microsemi shares sink on news of execs’ phony degrees
Broadcom billionaire argues for dismissal of criminal case
Quest Software settles with SEC over stock options probe
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Should have blacked out his address, as well. It’s not necessary information for readers and it can only lead to bad things… like him getting robbed. Even if he doesn’t live there anymore, leaving the address there just opens up the door to potential issues.
Barry Minkow is a shady character at best. 7 years in the can, then come out and start a business that tries to expose people for the same type of crimes you were convicted of? Bitter? Party of 2……your table is ready.
Lie and cheat your way to the top….the true American way.
He should have just admitted to lying when it first came out. Receiving an MBA is a big deal…wouldn’t you have the diploma laying around somewhere or at least pictures from the graduation with your family, former classmates to back up your story, or alumni affiliation? If Microsemi is okay with his lack of credentials, can anyone get a job there without any degrees as long as they make money for the company?
Wow, what a statement the company is making by NOT firing him like they did to the exec at Broadcom. It took Broadcom like two seconds to send their guy packing. At the very least Broadcom has been working very hard to disassociate themselves from the original founders and the corruption that went on. Can’t say the same for Mircosemi.
And to have the board back the guy from Microsemi…incredible. I guess ethics has no place in their business.
Yes the company runs all employees thru an extensive background check and they have a third party company that investigates criminal / Education. I beleive in the employee handbook there are many stipulations and consequences that refer to what happens if found out lying. I quess he was superior to needing to stoop this low with the regular workers. Its very amazing he continues to stay in this position …
If it’s good enough for the President in Thief, than I guess it’s good for everyone else … Wow what a revelation!! I see big changes coming to America in general starting at the top and trickling down…
When will the FTC or the SSEC do something about this ?
Sorry for the Typo. The FTC and/or SEC ?
It was bad enough that he Lied about his schooling, But to lie to the board and then ask BYU school to lie for him so he could try to cover it all up. Sounds to me he does not know how to tell the truth.
The whole semiconductor industry is full of liars, cheats, fingerbombers, and backstabbers. There is no way that I would hire ANYONE from that industry. Even the upper big wigs enable this kind of pervaracation. Where was HR during his hiring process?
Great role model for his kids and church.
I can only think J. P. has something on the board members as far as any kind of reason he’s not gone, but is the SEC’s roll is a mystery. Are they green-lighting misrepresentations here??? The initial filing, then wire fraud. Sure what the company may have gained was small potatoes, but everyone has got a black eye here. Microsemi, Minkow, the SEC even the potatoes.
Minkow… and some of the hedge action in general, are going to destroy the markets as an option for private retirement funds. No mutual fund can move fast enough to keep up with this junk.
I closely worked with peterson. I have an MBA. Big woop. Peterson was at the top of his career. A kid trying to get a job, lying on his or her res, not rite, I could at least understand. Peterson picked his board like a snake. they are his friends. friends or not they are accountable to the investors. bye bye peterson. Karma is getting ready to bit you on your but.
If you look at Bloomberg it appears the SEC is finally looking into this. It may be time for Mr. Peterson to sell his Bentley and come down to earth.
Here’s what the J.P. should do –
1.) Admit he was wrong. Admit his response was the worst possible choice, but it was a response to a personal attack. His instinct was to fight rather than concede. Apologize for initial falsification. Accept fine.
2.) Volunteer ‘wire oversight’ to any of his personal releases for a year.
3.) Donate money/ time into addressing hedge fund issues. — If desired the first could be making it illegal for wire releases by short sellers that don’t constitute material misrepresentation (the burden of determining what constitutes ‘material’ is on the one who releases information), such as — degrees that were not required for the position occupied.
And ASAP, it can only soften what the SEC or Feds have for him and more importantly it’s the right thing to do.
Id be willing to bet some of the other Board Members cant back up there degrees as well. Many of them probably road on J.P’s coat tails for a long time. It will be interesting to see if anyone will investigate them as well?
This is not about performance. It is about ethics. JimmyP, this isn’t SSI where just because you and the good ol’ boys at the top say it is so, it is.
This is not about whether you have a degree or not. This is about whether investors, employees, suppliers, customers, your board and even your friends can believe anything that MSCC says. Many of us did believe when you “categorically denied” charges of misrepresentation. The only thing true here was the destruction of shareholder value that resulted.
Well. It appears hes going to get away with it. Amazing!!!!!!!!
I have heard for a while that Matthew Kennedy from LDS Living magazine got his under graduate at BYU (Brigham Young University) and then went to Harvard Business School for his MBA. Several times I have heard him joke about being uneducated. I was at his home recently and in his office there was a Harvard MBA hanging on his wall. I read it closely, and then asked him why he never tells anyone that he went to Harvard…he said “does it really matter after all.” His dad went to Harvard and so did hi cousins. Matthew Kennedy’s LDS Living magazine was in the Boston Globe articles about helping Mitt Romney run for President.