Shift4 Payments, founded by Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, has agreed to a $750,000 settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over reporting and proxy violations.
The SEC determined that in its 2020 annual report and proxy statement, Shift4 failed to disclose compensation details concerning non-executive relationships connected to company leadership. Specifically:
- The sibling of an executive officer and director (and child of another director) received $1.1 million as a non-executive employee of the company.
- The sibling of another executive officer and director (and stepchild of another director) was paid $280,000 in residual commissions as an independent sales agent.
The SEC concluded that these undisclosed relationships constituted violations of the reporting and proxy solicitation provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Shift4 neither admitted nor denied the findings but agreed to a cease-and-desist order and the $750,000 civil penalty.
This development coincides with Jared Isaacman’s nomination as the head of NASA by incoming US President Donald Trump, a position that will place him in the public and regulatory spotlight.