CEO Who Blamed His Cancer on Short Sellers Gets a Year in Prison

Parker H. Petit, the former MiMedx Group Inc. chief executive officer convicted last year of securities fraud, was sentenced Tuesday to one year in prison.

“Prison time sends a deterrence message that can not be sent by any other punishment,” Judge Jed S. Rakoff said at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan.

Still, given that Petit is 81, suffers from recurring bladder cancer and has done much good throughout his life, “I don’t think that this requires years and years of punishment,” Rakoff said.

For Petit, it’s the end of a business career that spanned more than five ...