Two former executives charged with insider trading

On September 10, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against two individuals, charging them with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 USC § 78j(b), and Rule 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, 17 CFR § 240.10b-5(a) and (c).  According to the SEC, while serving as senior executives at PetMed Express, Inc., Richard M. Kirsch and Adam Terris traded in the company’s common stock and call options based on material nonpublic information about PetMed’s financial results, despite the company’s clear policies and directives against doing so. As alleged in the complaint, over the course four years, Kirsch and Terris gained $892,366 from these trades.  To resolve the allegations, Kirsch and Terris consented to the entry of permanent injunctions prohibiting them from future violations, and to the payment of penalties of $1,057,392 and $1,454,800, respectively. In addition, the two men consented to a five-year bar preventing them from acting as officer or director of companies that are registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act or required to file reports pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

SEC press release |Complaint