GREENWOOD VILLAGE Colo. Michael Snyder, the former CEO of Red Robin Gourmet Burger Inc., has agreed to pay a $250,000 civil penalty and never serve again as an officer or director of a public company to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that he fraudulently billed the casual-dining concern for personal expenses.
The agency had alleged that Snyder charged back such expenses as chartering a jet for trips with family and friends.
Snyder, who now lives in Ketchum, Idaho, did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement, the SEC reported. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment. She also declined to comment on the approval by a Denver U.S. District Court judge earlier this week of a $1.5 million settlement in a 2005 class action lawsuit filed by Red Robin shareholders. The investors had accused Snyder, the company and its board of mismanagement.
Snyder, a Red Robin franchisee who later bought the company and took it public, resigned in 2005, just before the company revealed an internal investigation into his finances. Former chief financial officer Jim McCloskey also resigned shortly after.
The SEC reported Snyder incurred personal travel expenses of roughly $1.2 million for charter jet travel, hotel and dinner expenses from 2002 through 2004. The commission further alleged that Snyder misrepresented the expenses, causing Red Robin to fail to report Snyder's compensation in SEC filing for those years. Red Robin, based here, operates or franchises 325 namesake restaurants.
