The Tribune Co. has agreed to pay a $15 million settlement in order to close the criminal fraud investigation into inflated circulation at Hoy New York and Newsday. Both papers reported false circulation numbers to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, between 2001 and 2004.
In an article published in Newsday, the paper acknowledges that it inflated circulation of its publication by as much as 100,000 copies, and Hoy’s by as much as 45,000. To date, the newspaper has paid advertisers $83 million in restitution. As part of the settlement, Tribune will not face criminal charges.
Earlier this year, Tribune sold Hoy New York to ImpreMedia, publisher of El diario/La Prensa and La Opinión.