The former chief financial officer of Bankrate Inc., the financial services and marketing company, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for securities and accounting fraud that resulted in $25 million in shareholder losses, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.

Edward DiMaria, 53 years old, was also ordered to pay restitution of $21.2 million to Bankrate’s shareholders. Mr. DiMaria pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to make false statements to the company’s accountants, falsify the company’s books, records and accounts, and commit securities fraud, as well as one count of making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The significant sentence handed down today underscores the serious nature of corporate fraud and the damage it causes to shareholders and to the public’s trust in our financial markets,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said in a statement. Mr. DiMaria’s attorneys didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. DiMaria admitted to conspiring and directing a scheme to artificially inflate Bankrate’s earnings through “cookie jar” or “cushion” accounting, a practice in which a company keeps a large quantity of reserves from an economically successful year on its books to boost its earnings results, while incurring them against losses during weaker quarters. The Justice Department indicted Mr. DiMaria with criminal fraud in December. Mr. DiMaria; Hyunjin Lerner, Bankrate’s former vice president of finance; and then-accounting director Matthew Gamsey were accused by the SEC of conspiring in the scheme in September 2015. At that time, Bankrate agreed to pay $15 million in a settlement with the SEC. The company didn’t admit or deny the accusations brought by the SEC. Mr. Lerner was sentenced earlier this year to 60 months in prison by the U.S. Southern District Court of Florida after pleading guilty for his role in conspiracy. Mr. Gamsey, without admitting wrongdoing, settled a civil complaint with the SEC last year. Bankrate was acquired by privately held Red Ventures late last year. —Kimberly Chin contributed to this article. Write to Tatyana Shumsky at tatyana.shumsky@wsj.com Corrections & Amplifications

The Justice Department said Tuesday the former chief financial officer of Bankrate Inc. was sentenced to 10 years in prison. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the day as Thursday. (Sept. 25)

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