September 26, 2002--America Online Inc. (AOL), already under investigation for questionable accounting practices, could become further muddied as reports surfaced Thursday that the U.S. government"s fraud investigation into real estate Web site operator Homestore.com Inc. has focused in on a former AOL executive responsible for arranging deals with Homestore.
Ex-AOL dealmaker Eric Keller, who was dismissed from the Dulles, Virginia, Internet giant last year, is being singled out by investigators for structuring deals with Homestore that may have helped artificially inflate the company"s revenues, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Homestore is currently under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice for artificially boosting its revenue by US$46 million last year.
Yesterday, three former Homestore executives agreed to plead guilty to charges related to securities fraud and to cooperate in the investigation.