SEC Charges Archer-Daniels-Midland Company and Two Former Senior Executives with Accounting and Disclosure Fraud

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-22588

January 27, 2026 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (“ADM”) and former executives Vince Macciocchi and Ray Young for engaging in accounting and disclosure fraud that materially inflated the performance of a key ADM business segment, Nutrition, which ADM touted to investors as an important driver of the company’s overall growth.

The SEC’s settled order against ADM, Macciocchi, and Young finds that, when Nutrition was in danger of falling short of its operating profit forecasts, Macciocchi, the former President of Nutrition, Young, ADM’s CFO, and another senior finance executive pressured employees to identify adjustments that would shift operating profit from other ADM business segments to Nutrition to ensure that Nutrition met its forecasts. The order finds that Macciocchi and another executive led efforts to identify and structure adjustments for fiscal years 2021 and 2022, and that Young negligently approved improper adjustments for fiscal years 2019 and 2021. The adjustments included retroactive rebates and price changes, were targeted to specific dollar amounts to hit Nutrition’s operating profit goals or mask a shortfall, and would not have been provided to third parties, according to the order. The order finds that the adjustments rendered the disclosure in ADM’s periodic reports that it recorded intersegment transactions at amounts “approximating market” false, as they resulted in intersegment transactions being recorded on terms that did not approximate market. The order further finds that, as a result of the adjustments, ADM overstated Nutrition’s operating profit for fiscal years 2019, 2021, and 2022, the third quarter of 2019, and all quarters in 2021.

The SEC’s order finds that ADM, Macciocchi, and Young violated the antifraud, reporting, internal accounting controls, and books and records provisions of the federal securities laws, and that Macciocchi and Young caused certain of ADM’s violations. Without admitting or denying the findings, ADM, Macciocchi, and Young agreed to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of the relevant provisions of the federal securities laws. ADM agreed to pay a $40,000,000 civil penalty, Macciocchi agreed to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling $404,343 and a civil penalty of $125,000, and Young agreed to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling $575,610 and a civil penalty of $75,000. Macciocchi also agreed to a three-year officer and director bar. The order creates a Fair Fund to distribute the ordered monetary relief to investors harmed by the alleged fraud.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Arefa Patel and Kathleen Sweeney of the Chicago Regional Office, under the supervision of Steven Klawans, Ann Tushaus, and Paul Montoya, and was assisted by Ian Rupell of the Enforcement Office of the Chief Accountant, under the supervision of Ryan Wolfe. Related litigation will be led by Tim Leiman, Ashley Dalmau-Holmes, and Timothy Stockwell, under the supervision of Ben Hanauer.

Related Litigation