Former Congressman and FBI Agent In Training Among Those Charged With Insider Trading

Nine people were charged in four separate insider trading schemes on Monday, including a former U.S. congressman from Indiana, technology company executives, a man training to be an FBI agent, and an investment banker. The cheating resulted in millions of dollars of illegal profits for defendants.

A former Republican congressman, Stephan Buyer, was charged Monday, accused of misappropriating secrets to make $350,000 illegally. His lawyer said his stock trades were lawful and he looked forward to being quickly vindicated.

In March 2018, Buyer purchased Sprint securities just a day after receiving information from a T-Mobile executive about the company’s then-nonpublic plan to acquire Sprint. This violated the federal securities laws and undermined public trust in the markets.

A man who was training to be an FBI agent stole inside information from his then-girlfriend who was working at a major Washington D.C. law firm. He was able to access information about pending acquisition of Merck & Co and made more than $1.4 million in illegal profits utilizing the intel.

“We have zero tolerance, zero tolerance for cheating in our markets,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC Enforcement Division.

“When insiders like Buyer — an attorney, a former prosecutor, and a retired Congressman — monetize their access to material, nonpublic information, as alleged in this casethey not only violate the federal securities laws, but also undermine public trust and confidence in the fairness of our markets,” Grewal said.

For more on this story, please consider these sources:

  1. Former congressman charged with insider trading  The Hill
  2. SEC charges former GOP Rep. Stephen Buyer with insider trading  CNBC
  3. Former GOP Congressman Arrested On Insider Trading Charges  HuffPost
  4. Ex-US congressman among 9 charged in insider trading cases  The Associated Press
  5. Ex-Goldman Banker Tipped Squash Buddy on Deals, US Alleges  Bloomberg