Firm Denies Fraud Allegations

NEWPORT BEACH — Executives at Comparator Systems Corp. said Saturday that contrary to allegations in a federal government lawsuit, their company is legitimate, they have never cheated investors and that the federal accusations rely on the testimony of people out to damage the company.

Chief Executive Robert Rogers and Vice President Gregory Armijo, whose personal assets have been frozen in connection with a federal fraud investigation, expressed bewilderment at the accusations against them.

Asked whether Comparator is a legitimate firm, Rogers said: “I swear that it is, and we’re going to do our best to prove that.”

Rogers acknowledged that in 1991 the company borrowed a prototype of a fingerprint system from a professor in Scotland. The company had a contract to market the device, he said, “but we concluded we couldn’t market the product. It wasn’t fast enough or accurate enough.”

Rogers also refuted the SEC’s claims that Comparator has lied about its assets.

“The auditors are the ones who make those determinations,” said Rogers, who pointed out that Nasdaq market regulators had long been aware of the company’s asset situation.