BY AL LEWIS

Clarence Gooden, chief commercial officer at CSX Corp., doesn't have the bachelor of arts degree from the University of Georgia claimed in his corporate biography, the company said Monday.

A 2006-2007 corporate profile that the Jacksonville, Fla.-based railroad operator filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission said that Mr. Gooden has a "B.A." from the school. And numerous executive profiles available on the Internet say he has an "A.B." degree.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce, for example, where Mr. Gooden serves as a director, says "Clarence is a graduate of the University of Georgia with an A.B. in Political Science."

CSX Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Ward issued a statement to employees after Dow Jones Newswires alerted CSX officials to the discrepancy. "We recently learned that CSX has been overstating the academic credentials of Clarence Gooden in various documents over the years," Mr. Ward wrote. "Mr. Gooden's corporate biography states that he has received a college degree from the University of Georgia when, in fact, he has not."

"I have told you many times that CSX's reputation matters," the statement added, "It is unacceptable for any employee -- no matter how valued or successful they are -- to provide, or fail to correct, inaccurate information. For Mr. Gooden's failure to do so, the company has imposed a substantial financial penalty on him."

Company spokesman Garrick Francis wouldn't elaborate on the nature or size of the penalty.

Mr. Gooden attended the school from the fall of 1970 to the fall of 1973, but there is no record of the university granting him a degree, said Rosemary Segreti of the University of Georgia's registrar's office.

The executive released a statement apologizing to employees. "My failure to provide accurate information not only hurts my credibility, but also the reputation of the company that has given me extraordinary opportunities over the years. I want you to know that I take full responsibility and hope that you will accept my sincere apology," Mr. Gooden said.

In its corporate profile, CSX says Mr. Gooden has been with the company for more than 35 years and is "responsible for forecasting business trends and developing CSX model for future revenue growth." He earned more than $4.6 million in compensation last year, down from more than $6.1 million in 2007, according to the company's most recent proxy statement.

 Mr. Gooden is the latest target of San Diego felon-turned-private-fraud-investigator Barry Minkow, who uncovered the discrepancy in his credentials. At age 23, Mr. Minkow went to prison for nearly eight years after publicly traded ZZZZ Best Co., the carpet-cleaning company he built in the 1980s as a teenager, was exposed as a Ponzi scheme. Mr. Minkow is founder of the Fraud Discovery Institute, which sells short the stocks of companies it investigates in hopes of turning a profit.

Mr. Minkow said he has a short position in CSX stock, which traded for nearly $70 a share last year but now trades below $30.

The investigator has uncovered more than a dozen executives with misstatements in their corporate bios, many of whom have been fired. Often, a misstated academic credential in an official corporate bio is at odds with a company's stated code of ethics. "You must help ensure that any business information you report is accurate, complete, and timely," reads the code of ethics at CSX.

   Write to By Al Lewis at al.lewis@dowjones.com