Firm Employee's Leak of Deal Info Leads to Insider Trading Case
When the administrative assistant to the lead law firm partner handling the 2012 Harleysville-Nationwide merger began working longer hours in preparation for the deal, she explained to her boyfriend why.
February 04, 2015 at 07:00 PM
5 minute read
When the administrative assistant to the lead law firm partner handling the 2012 Harleysville-Nationwide merger began working longer hours in preparation for the deal, she explained to her boyfriend why.
The boyfriend told his father, who, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, illegally traded on that information in advance of the deal going public.
The SEC filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Tuesday alleging Joel J. Epstein breached a duty of trust owed to his son by buying shares of Harleysville before the merger was announced and telling four others to do the same. Epstein has agreed to a settlement of the civil action, according to the SEC. Epstein has agreed to pay about $237,000, representing the amount he and the four other tippees gained from the trading, as well as a civil penalty of the same amount and prejudgment interest of $21,599, according to the SEC. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania approved the deal Wednesday afternoon.
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