WASHINGTON -- BlackBerry maker Research in Motion's (NASDAQ: RIMM) top executives settled U.S. regulator claims that they illegally backdated millions of stock options over an eight-year period, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday.

RIM Co-CEOs James Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis as well as the Canadian company's former chief financial officer, Dennis Kavelman, and former vice president of finance, Angelo Loberto, did not admit to or deny the SEC's allegations.

However, the four agreed to pay penalties totaling $1.43 million -- fines that are much smaller than those Balsillie and Lazaridis agreed to pay in settling with the Ontario Securities Commission.

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