Dell Inc., the third-largest computer maker in the world, is settling a civil fraud case with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for $100 million.  The company’s chairman and CEO is separately paying $4 million to settle a civil penalty levied against him.

The civil charges stemmed from a five-year investigation of the company, after which the SEC filed a civil suit alleging that Dell Inc. fraudulently used payments from Intel to boost its profits in order to meet Wall Street targets.  The SEC also alleged that Dell failed to disclose to investors large payments made by Intel in exchange for not using central processing units made by Intel’s biggest rival.

For the full story, go to the New York Times.