SEC Charges GlaxoSmithKline's Stiefel Laboratories and Its Ex-CEO of Fraud

Charles W. Stiefel made a fortune when the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline acquired his family-owned dermatology business, Stiefel Laboratories, for $2.9 billion in 2009. He also defrauded his staff in the process, according to a lawsuit filed Monday against Mr. Stiefel and his company, now a GlaxoSmithKline subsidiary, by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The S.E.C. accused Mr. Stiefel of cheating the former employees out of more than $110 million by hiding vital information about the company — including the potential acquisition by GlaxoSmithKline — while Stiefel Labs was buying their shares in the company’s stock plan at extremely low valuations.