• CNNMoney.com, Thursday, January 4, 2007 12:15 PM

Apple Computer has done its utmost to shield CEO Steve Jobs from any legal trouble in light of his knowledge and profit from improperly backdated stock option grants, but four other former executives may not get off so lightly. Shareholders filed a suit charging that Apple exercised the option to buy almost 1 million shares of company stock for four executives the day before the computer maker announced a $150 million investment by Microsoft in 1997.

The Los Angeles Timesreports that big no-no was common at Apple for years when the computer maker was struggling. Apple conceded as much on Friday, restating its earnings by lower than $84 million from 1997 to 2005 because of the practice.

On Aug. 6, 1997, Jobs announced that Apple had struck a deal with Microsoft to invest in the company and put the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser on Apple's Mac desktop. Apple shares immediately leapt 33% on the news. The options were vested in annual installments over three years, beginning in August 1997 for four former Apple executives, during which time the Apple's shares more than tripled in value.

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