Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) is once again facing negative attention.
In the 1990s, the major agricultural company was involved in a that served as the inspiration for a book and subsequently a Matt Damon film. The company’s current issue involves accounting practices within its nutrition division.
Following an investigation that lasted nearly three years, ADM has agreed to a $40 million civil penalty settlement with the SEC. The company neither admitted nor denied the allegations, which claimed it misled investors regarding the performance of its nutrition segment, responsible for producing ingredients for both human and animal consumption, the agency announced on Tuesday. Regulators asserted that ADM employed improper accounting methods to inflate the segment’s profits, primarily by transferring earnings from other divisions through non-market “intersegment” sales and other adjustments.
Former ADM executives Vince Macciocchi, who held the positions of SVP and president of nutrition, and chief sales and marketing officer; Ray Young, CFO from 2010 to 2022 and later vice chairman; and Vikram Luthar, CFO from 2022 to 2024, have also been charged in relation to the accounting and disclosure issues. Macciocchi has agreed to pay approximately $404,343 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, along with a $125,000 civil penalty. Young has agreed to pay about $575,610 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, plus a $75,000 civil penalty.
However, the SEC also stated on Tuesday that Luthar continues to face charges of accounting and disclosure fraud. He is accused of significantly overstating the performance of the nutrition segment, which ADM had promoted to investors as a key driver of the company’s overall growth. The SEC’s complaint against Luthar alleges that he directed “adjustments” to nutrition’s transactions with other ADM business segments when nutrition failed to meet its operating profit targets for fiscal years 2021 and 2022.
These adjustments included retroactive rebates and price changes that were not typically offered to ADM’s third-party customers. These were essentially one-sided transfers of operating profit to nutrition, intended to make it appear that nutrition was achieving the 15% to 20% annual operating profit growth projected by Luthar and other ADM executives to investors, according to the SEC.
In response to the SEC’s filing, Junaid Zubairi of Vedder, representing Luthar, stated in a message to that the allegations are “meritless and the product of a one-sided complaint that omits significant exculpatory facts.” Zubairi noted that ADM engaged experienced outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation and, as publicly disclosed in ADM’s March 25, 2025, proxy statement, Luthar was not found to have engaged in improper conduct.
“The SEC unjustly seeks to hold Mr. Luthar accountable for long-standing business practices at ADM,” Vedder stated, adding that the “transactions in question were transparent and were considered, approved, and implemented in good faith at the company.” Luthar, who joined ADM in 2004 and became CFO in 2022, denies the charges and intends to contest them in court.
ADM ( a component of the 500) initiated an internal investigation, voluntarily reported its findings to the SEC, implemented new internal accounting controls, and revised policies and procedures. In March 2024, ADM corrected certain prior period errors, and in November 2024, the company restated its previously issued 2023 Form 10-K and Forms 10-Q for the first and second quarters of 2024, in each case to address errors in its historical segment reporting. “ADM has implemented significant changes to its financial leadership team and financial controls,” the company stated in a press release on Tuesday. Monish Patolawala has served as EVP and CFO of ADM since August 1, 2024. He was previously the CFO of .
ADM is “pleased to put these matters behind the company,” said Juan Luciano, chair of the board, president, and CEO, in a statement. He highlighted that the company has enhanced its internal controls and financial reporting based on lessons learned and pledged ongoing transparency, integrity, and a commitment to maintaining stakeholder trust.
previously reported that Luthar was placed on administrative leave in January 2024. In April of that year, the company announced , effective September 30, 2024, as a criminal probe by the Department of Justice into ADM’s accounting practices commenced. The DOJ ultimately concluded its criminal investigation without filing charges.
ADM’s nutrition business has consistently been a core element of the company’s strategy. In 2014, ADM completed its largest acquisition to date with the $ purchase of Wild Flavors, a European maker of natural ingredients, with the goal of diversifying beyond its traditional grain and oilseed trading operations. However, declining demand and inconsistent performance have prevented the segment from meeting initial expectations—pressures that are now at the heart of the SEC’s case.