He bought a lot of shares and sold them when the price rose: the man secretly eavesdropped on his wife and made 1.8 million dollars

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It is probably one of the most brazen cases of insider trading: Tyler Loudon from the US state of Texas managed to amass a total of $ 1.76 million.

This did not happen through secret agreements, but by shamelessly eavesdropping on his wife, who works from home, during their business conversations.

The value of the share rose by as much as 71 percent

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Loudon overheard several conversations in 2022 with his wife, a mergers and acquisitions manager at British Petroleum (BP). The discussions focused on the $1.3 billion acquisition of Travel Centers of America, a rest stop provider, by British Petroleum, the BBC reported.

Loudon managed to convert the information, which was still secret at the time, into cash by purchasing enormous amounts of shares in Travel Centers. No less than 46,450 in number! Shortly after the acquisition was announced last spring, the value of the shares shot through the roof. Thanks to a 71 percent increase in value, Loudon’s account collected a significant amount of money after the shares were sold.

However, it didn’t take long for Securities and Exchange Commission agents to notice the unusual stock trading and report it to Loudon. “We state that Mr. Loudon abused his remote working conditions and his wife’s trust to profit from information he knew was confidential,” the SEC wrote in a report.

Woman wants a divorce and has broken off contact

Loudon was eventually forced to confess everything to his wife. She was “stunned” and reported the transaction to her supervisor at BP. The company then checked her emails and text messages to rule out her involvement.

Although she didn’t, the woman lost her job because she was too negligent in handling the classified information. As the SEC report notes, Loudon’s wife has now moved out of their home and cut off all contact. She filed for divorce last June.

According to the SEC, Loudon does not deny the allegations. He agreed to pay a fine. The man is now facing criminal charges and could end up behind bars for several years if convicted. (ced)

Source: Blick