April 21, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a court-approved settlement requiring a Michigan-based former accountant at Domino’s Pizza Inc. to pay a penalty of nearly $2 million for insider trading in the company’s stock.
The SEC’s complaint, filed April 13, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleged that Bernard L. Compton used confidential financial data he obtained through his role as an accountant at the corporate office of Domino’s to trade ahead of 12 of the company’s earnings announcements between 2015 and 2020. The SEC further alleged that Compton spread these trades across seven different brokerage accounts belonging to himself and various members of his family, which led to illicit profits of more than $960,000.
“The SEC investigation uncovered that Compton allegedly accessed and reviewed Domino’s confidential data to prepare financial performance reports for senior management,” said Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit. “Using innovative analytical tools, SEC staff exposed the defendant’s repeated misuse of this inside information and are now holding him accountable.”
According to the SEC’s complaint, Compton violated the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Compton consented to the court’s order issued April 19 that permanently enjoins him from violating these provisions and orders him to pay a civil penalty of $1,921,394. Compton further agreed to be suspended from appearing and practicing before the SEC as an accountant, which includes not participating in the financial reporting or audits of public companies.
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Mark Astarita is a nationally recognized securities attorney, who represents investors, financial professionals and firms in securities litigation, arbitration and regulatory matters, including SEC and FINRA investigations and enforcement proceedings.
He is a partner in the national securities law firm Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC, and the founder of The Securities Law Home Page - SECLaw.com, which was one of the first legal topic sites on the Internet. It went online in 1995 and is updated daily with news, commentary and securities law related links.
