On January 13, 2020, a judgment was entered against Robert O. Carr, former CEO of Heartland Payment Systems, Inc., ordering him to pay a civil penalty of $250,628 and barring him for two years from serving as officer or director of a public company. In a complaint filed in July 2018, the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Carr gave his girlfriend, Katherine Hanratty, $1 million to open a brokerage account, and provided her with confidential information about the potential acquisition of Heartland by Global Payments, Inc. Hanratty purchased over 11,000 shares of Heartland stock, selling it for a profit of more than $250,000 following announcement of the acquisition. According to the complaint, by knowingly or recklessly engaging in the conduct described in this Complaint, Carr and Hanratty violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5.
A consent judgment was entered against Hanratty on October 5, 2018, ordering her to pay a civil penalty of $250,628, disgorgement of an equal amount, and prejudgment interest of $27,351.
SEC litigation release | Complaint | Consent judgment (Hanratty)