Massive profits from insider trading by an American whose activity caught the attention of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The man from Texas, identified as Tyler Loudon, allegedly overheard a phone call from his wife while they were both working from their home just meters apart.
As per the SEC, the defendant’s wife, who worked at BP in the mergers section, discussed her company’s plans to acquire TravelCenters of America.
Armed with this information, the man purchased 46,450 shares of TravelCenters several weeks before BP’s acquisition announcement last February.
All of this without his wife’s knowledge.
Following the acquisition announcement, TravelCenters’ stock price surged by 71%, allowing Loudon to cash out his shares for $1.8 million.
Ultimately, the man confessed to his wife that he had bought the shares because he wanted to make money so that she wouldn’t have to work as many hours.
However, this revelation triggered a chain of problems for the couple.
Despite no evidence of her leaking information about the acquisition, the woman was fired after -for reasons unknown- she reported what had happened to her superiors
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She subsequently left the house, cut off all communication with him, and filed for divorce.
The incident reignites discussions about working from home.
Many large companies are once again asking their employees to return to the office for some – if not all – working days of the week.
They also call for measures for those handling confidential information.
In the end, the SEC ordered the man, who admitted to his actions, to return the proceeds with interest and prohibited him from holding executive roles in companies.
Furthermore, he will be fined, the amount of which will be determined by the court, and if convicted, he could face imprisonment.