UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report: September 29, 2004
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(Date of earliest event reported)
FORCE PROTECTION, INC.
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(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Colorado 000-22273 84-1383888
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(State or other jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer of
incorporation) Identification No.)
9801 Highway 78, #3, Ladson, SC
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(Address of principal executive offices)
29456
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(Zip Code)
(843) 740-7015
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(Registrant's telephone number)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
[ ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
[ ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange
Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[ ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange
Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item 8.01 Other Events.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Director, Michael Watts, was indicted in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose
Division on September 29, 2004. The indictment alleges that Michael Watts and
his wife, Jan Watts, understated their taxable income for 1997 by approximately
$2,000,054 and that their tax due and owing for that year was understated by
approximately $782,624. The indictment also alleges that they established
offshore corporations for the purpose of concealing income derived from the sale
of stock options; transferred stock options offshore for the same purpose,
maintained offshore bank accounts for the purpose of concealing income derived
from the sale of stock options and hired a third party to falsely pose as
president of a separate company in order to claim a purported debt owed for a
software purchase.
The Board of Directors has discussed this matter at length, and with the
information currently available, has determined that the events giving rise to
the indictment occurred several years prior to Mr. Watts' employment with the
Company and do not relate to the current operation of the Company. The Board
will continue to investigate the impact of this event on the Company and its
shareholders and plan accordingly while recognizing that the indictment contains
only allegations and Mr. Watts must be presumed innocent unless and until
convicted.
This Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements regarding future
board and company actions. Our actual future actions could differ materially
from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons
including the interim and final results of the indictment; Mr. Watts' continued
employment with the company; our ability to continue to implement our business
plan and other factors discussed in our reports filed with the SEC. Although we
believe the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, they relate only to events as of the date on which the statements
are made, and our future results and actions, levels of activity or performance
may not meet these expectations. We do not intend to update any of the
forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform these
statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as
required by law.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Force Protection, Inc.
Registrant
Date: October 21, 2004 By: /s/ Scott Ervin
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R. Scott Ervin
Chairman of the Board