The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on
Monday that it had filed insider trading charges against a former US
Representative for Indiana’s 4th Congressional District.
According to the press release, the charges were brought
against Stephen Buyer, who allegedly committed insider trading related to
stocks after leaving the Congress in 2011 and later formed a consulting firm that provided services to companies like T-Mobile.
Case Background
As a result of a golf outing he attended with a T-Mobile
executive in March 2018, Buyer learned that the company was planning to acquire
Sprint at that time, but the plan was not publicly known. The next day, Buyer
began purchasing Sprint shares, and he acquired a total of $568,000 of Sprint
common stock in his own personal accounts, a joint account with his cousin, and
an acquaintance’s account before the merger announcement.
Over $107,000 in profit was immediately realized after news
of the merger leaked in April 2018. Buyer purchased more than $1 million of
Navigant Consulting, Inc. securities before Guidehouse LLP, another of Buyer’s
consulting clients, announced it would acquire Navigant.
Using several accounts, Buyer spread his purchases across
his own, joint accounts with his wife, son, and wife’s own account, as well as
an acquaintance’s account that was involved in Sprint’s trading. According to the
complaint, Buyer sold nearly all of the shares he had acquired across the
various accounts on the day Navigant announced its acquisition and profited
more than $227,000.
“When insiders like Buyer – an attorney, a former prosecutor,
and a retired Congressman – monetize their access to material, nonpublic
information, as alleged in this case, they not only violate the federal
securities laws, but also undermine public trust and confidence in the fairness
of our markets. We are committed to doing all we can to maintain and enhance
public trust by leveling the playing field and holding Buyer accountable for
illegally profiting from his access,” Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC
Enforcement Division, commented.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on
Monday that it had filed insider trading charges against a former US
Representative for Indiana’s 4th Congressional District.
According to the press release, the charges were brought
against Stephen Buyer, who allegedly committed insider trading related to
stocks after leaving the Congress in 2011 and later formed a consulting firm that provided services to companies like T-Mobile.
Case Background
As a result of a golf outing he attended with a T-Mobile
executive in March 2018, Buyer learned that the company was planning to acquire
Sprint at that time, but the plan was not publicly known. The next day, Buyer
began purchasing Sprint shares, and he acquired a total of $568,000 of Sprint
common stock in his own personal accounts, a joint account with his cousin, and
an acquaintance’s account before the merger announcement.
Over $107,000 in profit was immediately realized after news
of the merger leaked in April 2018. Buyer purchased more than $1 million of
Navigant Consulting, Inc. securities before Guidehouse LLP, another of Buyer’s
consulting clients, announced it would acquire Navigant.
Using several accounts, Buyer spread his purchases across
his own, joint accounts with his wife, son, and wife’s own account, as well as
an acquaintance’s account that was involved in Sprint’s trading. According to the
complaint, Buyer sold nearly all of the shares he had acquired across the
various accounts on the day Navigant announced its acquisition and profited
more than $227,000.
“When insiders like Buyer – an attorney, a former prosecutor,
and a retired Congressman – monetize their access to material, nonpublic
information, as alleged in this case, they not only violate the federal
securities laws, but also undermine public trust and confidence in the fairness
of our markets. We are committed to doing all we can to maintain and enhance
public trust by leveling the playing field and holding Buyer accountable for
illegally profiting from his access,” Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC
Enforcement Division, commented.
