A former Domino’s Pizza accountant, whose alleged illegal trades resulted in profits of $960,697, was hit with nearly a $2 million penalty on Thursday for using nonpublic earnings reports to gain an advantage, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC’s complaint, filed April 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleged Bernard Compton profited off confidential financial data he obtained through his role as an accountant at the company’s corporate office, according to a press release.

Compton, who “never held a (Cerfied Public Accountant) license,” according to the SEC’s order, traded ahead of 12 different earnings reports, using the inside information to spread trades across “seven different brokerage accounts belonging to himself and various members of his family.”

Without admitting or denying the allegations, Compton consented to the court’s order 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 financial reporting or audits of public companies.

According to the complaint, Compton violated the antifraud provisions of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and rules thereunder regarding securities fraud.

“The SEC investigation uncovered that Compton allegedly accessed and reviewed Domino’s confidential data to prepare financial performance reports for senior management,” stated Joseph 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.”

Jeff Dale is Managing Editor, Editorial Projects and Analytics, at Compliance Week. He previously served as Compliance Week's Digital Editor and has worked as a copy editor at the Boston Herald and city editor at The Hour Publishing Co. in Norwalk, Conn.View full Profile

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