July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs and other managers were accused in an investor lawsuit against the company of backdating stock-option awards to maximize their personal profit.

The complaint was filed June 27 in federal court in San Jose, California, by shareholder Martin Vogel, who had a similar case dismissed last year by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel.

Vogel and co-plaintiff Kenneth Mahoney said in the new complaint, also assigned to Fogel, that Apple executives hid the cost of the backdated options from shareholders, leading the company to file false financial statements. Vogel seeks class- action, or group, status to represent other investors affected by the backdating.

The executives ``granted themselves in-the-money options while falsifying company records and publicly filed documents to create the appearance that the options had been granted at the market price on an earlier date,'' according to the complaint.

The claims mirror allegations made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a lawsuit against former Apple General Counsel Nancy Heinen, who is also named as a defendant in the shareholder suit. The SEC case is scheduled for trial next year.

Apple spokeswoman Susan Lundgren declined to comment yesterday on the investor suit. Patrice Bishop, a lawyer representing shareholders, didn't return a call seeking comment.

Apple, maker of the iPod and iPhone music-and-video players, gained $1.94 to $170.12 at 1:00 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The Cupertino, California-based company has fallen 14 percent this year.

Backdated Options

Apple said in 2006 that it backdated 6,428 stock-option grants issued from 1997 to 2002. The company conducted an internal investigation, finding no misconduct by Jobs, who recommended favorable dates on some option grants other than his own. The company recorded $84 million in charges to correct its accounting.

Stock options allow holders to buy shares later, usually at the trading price on the day the options were granted. Through backdating, companies retroactively change grant dates to those with lower stock prices, giving recipients built-in profits. Unless disclosed and recorded as expenses, the practice is illegal because it hides costs from shareholders and regulators.

The case is Vogel v. Apple Inc., 08-03123, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 3, 2008 15:54 EDT