A group of shareholders have filed suit against former Monster Worldwide Inc. CEO Andrew McKelvey, accusing the founder of the online jobs company of being personally involved in the backdating of stock options.

McKelvey stepped down from his position in October, and eventually relinquished his post as a director of the company rather than consent to be interviewed.

Monster previously admitted that former executives backdated options, and officials at the SEC and U.S. attorney's office continue to investigate the company.

Now, according to a July 20 report in The Wall Street Journal, a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on behalf of a pair of pension funds claim that McKelvey personally had a hand in backdating 600,000 options in March 1999.

The complaint says McKelvey was able to continually attract top talent without diluting Monster's stock price by offering large options packages without recording to the real cost of the options.

The Journal noted that the complaint does not suggest that McKelvey recognized the impropriety of his action.