Earl C. Arrowood and Parker H. "Pete" Petit
Litigation Release No. 22223 /January 11, 2012
SEC v. Earl C. Arrowood and Parker H. "Pete" Petit, Civil Action No. 1:12-cv-00082-RWS
SEC Charges Earl C. Arrowood and Parker H. "Pete" Petit with Insider Trading
On January 9, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action against Earl C. Arrowood, a 67-year old resident of Gainesville, Georgia, and Parker H. "Pete" Petit, a 72-year old who maintains residences in both Miramar Beach, Florida and Roswell, Georgia. The Commission alleges insider trading by Arrowood based on material non-public information about the potential sale of Matria Healthcare, Inc. ("Matria"), formerly a NASDAQ-listed company, provided by his friend and flying partner, Petit. At that time, Petit was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Matria. The Commission alleges that Petit tipped Arrowood that Matria was seeking to be acquired in advance of Matria's January 15, 2008 public announcement. Based on the tip, Arrowood purchased a total of over 17,500 common shares of Matria in October and December 2007 resulting in unrealized gains on the Matria trades in excess of $94,000, based on a 20 percent increase in Matria's share price after the news was made public in January 2008.
The Commission's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, charges Arrowood and Petit with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint alleges that that each violated Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, alleges and seeks against each a permanent injunction, disgorgement with prejudgment interest and civil monetary penalties pursuant Section 21A of the Exchange Act; and as to Petit, an order barring him from acting as an officer or director of any issuer whose securities are registered with the Commission pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act or which is required to file reports with the Commission pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
The Commission would like to thank FINRA for its assistance in this matter.