NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The former chief executive officer of one of the country’s largest payment processing companies has settled insider trading allegations with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Former Heartland Payment Systems CEO Robert O. Carr signed an order last week in U.S. District Court in Connecticut that requires him to pay a civil penalty of $250,000 to the SEC, according to a court filing. As part of the agreement, he didn’t admit or deny any of the allegations in the SEC complaint.
Carr was accused last year by the SEC of having given inside information and about $1 million to Kathie Hanratty, characterized as his girlfriend, to buy Heartland stock before the December 2015 announcement that the company was to be acquired by Georgia-based Global Payments Inc. The company sold for roughly $4 billion in 2016.
An attorney representing Carr didn’t return a message seeking comment Monday.
The SEC lawsuit alleged the information gave Hanratty’s investment a 25% gain.
Hanratty reached an agreement with the SEC last fall to pay back about $500,000.
Carr and Hanratty also face a lawsuit filed by Heartland and could face federal charges.
Carr founded Heartland in Princeton, New Jersey, in the late 1990s and grew it into one of the country’s largest payment processing companies. Along the way, he formed a foundation that paid college tuition for hundreds of economically disadvantaged students.
He also wrote a book about his journey from a working-class upbringing to millionaire entrepreneur.