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PurchasePro CEO Case Reaches Mistrial

Written on

Nov 13, 2006 

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Sarah Novotny  |

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PurchasePro CEO Case Reaches Mistrial

Today, a U.S. district judge declared a mistrial in the case against former PurchasePro CEO Charles E. Johnson, who was accused of masterminding under-the-table advertising deals with AOL in 2001 in order to boost earnings reports before going bust in 2002. The reason for the mistrial is being kept confidential, but the Washington Post suggests it may have something to do with misconduct by Johnson. And in an unusual move, his defense attorney withdrew from the case after three weeks on the job after a closed courtroom session.

Johnson was indicted in early 2005 and pleaded not guilty, claiming the Justice Department was pursuing him for political reasons. Several others faced charges with him, including Kent Wakeford, formerly of AOL’s now defunct business affairs division, and John Tuli, former VP of AOL’s Netbusiness division. Because of the mistrial, Johnson will be tried separately.

The prosecution charges that Johnson destroyed emails and documents, and threatened employees in order to cover up the alleged fraud. Meanwhile, Johnson maintains that he used both his money and his livelihood try and save the sinking business, and kept all records. “I saved everything from day one of PurchasePro,” he said the Kentucky native while standing beside his wife on the Alexandria, Virginia courthouse steps according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Johnson has not yet publicly commented on the mistrial. The trial of the other PurchasePro defendants will resume Thursday.

Tags: AOL and legal_issues

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