**Editor's note: Find out how cable MSOs can generate new revenue from business services with our exclusive, in-depth report from analyst firm NPRG, available now as a free download .**
Comcast Corp. Chief Executive Brian L. Roberts has agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty over Federal Trade Commission charges that he violated federal law by failing to file required notices before acquiring shares in his company.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday filed a proposed consent order in order to resolve the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
The FTC alleged that Roberts violated notice and waiting requirements in the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act beginning in October 2007 by failing "to notify the FTC and DOJ before receiving Comcast voting securities beyond the thresholds set by the HSR Act."
Roberts continued to receive Comcast securities in violation of the HSR Act through April 2009 but made a corrective filing with the FTC and Justice Department in August of that same year, according to the FTC.
The FTC said the "inadvertent and technical" nature of the violation as well as other factors, including bad advice from outside counsel, limited the fine. The FTC also noted Roberts reported the violation "promptly" once he discovered it and didn't benefit financially from it.
Roberts must pay the penalty within 30 days from when the court enters the order.
