Overstock discloses SEC subpoena a year late

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The founder of Overstock.com received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission in May of 2006, but did not tell investors about the order until nearly a year later.

The company's 10-Q statement, which was released Thursday, shows that founder and CEO Patrick Byrne got the request on May 17, 2006.

The document requested that the company submit documents relating to its accounting and financial estimates.

Separately, Byrne announced last May that the company had received a subpoena and notice of investigation, but did not mention at the time that he personally had also been subpoenaed.

In response to recent press about the action, Byrne wrote on Overstock's web site, "I and some colleagues (both within and outside the company) have voluntarily cooperated with the SEC for over two years in a variety of investigations run out of several offices. I started doing this because I became convinced our capital markets are strikingly corrupt and have to be fixed or else our country may endure a 1929 event."

Shares of Overstock (up $0.10 to $17.30, Charts) gained 1.6 percent in Friday trade on Nasdaq.