Former Apple general counsel Nancy Heinen has been charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with involvement in improper stock option backdating.

Heinen, who left Apple last May, has been accused by the government body of having backdated an option grant of $4.8m (£2.4m) to six members of Apple's executive team, including herself, in 2001.

She has also been charged with causing the company to backdate a $7.5m (£3.7m) grant to chief executive Steve Jobs.

The SEC filed the charges against Heinen yesterday (24 April), alleging she was responsible for altering company records to conceal the fraud.

The agency simultaneously settled charges against Apple's former chief financial officer, Fred Anderson, having alleged that he had failed to ensure that the company's financial statements were correct. Anderson agreed to pay $3.5m (£1.75m) in fines.

Heinen is the latest in a string of general counsel to face SEC charges related to backdating share options. In March, former McAfee general counsel Kent Roberts was charged with seven counts of fraud, while earlier this year employment giant Monster's former general counsel, Myron Olesnyckyj, paid fines totalling $381,000 (£193,039) after pleading guilty to fraud.