National Lampoon Inc. early Thursday said Chief Executive Daniel S. Laikin resigned in the wake of his indictment earlier this week on charges related to an alleged stock manipulation scheme.

The board of the Beverly Hills comedy media company on Wednesday appointed a director, Timothy S. Durham, to serve as interim CEO and president. Laikin, the company’s largest single shareholder, will continue to serve on the board, the company said.

The board formed a special committee that comprises Durham, who is who is managing member of Obsidian Capital Co. in Indianapolis, and Chairman James P. Jimirro to investigate the circumstances of the charges filed Monday by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The SEC alleges that Laikin and a company consultant paid kickbacks of about $68,000 for the purchase National Lampoon shares in order to inflate the stock price. Two outside stock promoters also were charged. The U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia filed criminal charges based on the same allegations. Laikin was arrested and released in Los Angeles Monday after posting a $50,000 bond.

The complaints allege that from March through June of this year, Laikin and Dennis Barsky, a consultant and a large stockholder, paid kickbacks to stock promoters and a witness in Philadelphia who was cooperating in a federal sting operation.

The SEC said Laikin and others wanted to push National Lampoon’s stock price to at least $5 a share to keep the price above the minimum listing requirements of the American Stock Exchange and to put the company in position to make partnerships and acquisitions.

If convicted of all charges in the federal criminal case, Laikin, Barsky, and other defendants could face up to 25 years in prison.