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submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

US regulators have accused a man of making $1.8m (£1.4m) by trading on confidential information he overheard while his wife was on a remote call, in a case that could fuel arguments against working from home.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it charged Tyler Loudon with insider trading after he “took advantage of his remote working conditions” and profited from private information related to the oil firm BP’s plans to buy an Ohio-based travel centre and truck-stop business last year.

The SEC claims that Loudon, who is based in Houston, Texas, listened in on several remote calls held by his wife, a BP merger and acquisitions manager who had been working on the planned deal in a home office 20ft (6 metres) away.

The regulator said Loudon went on a buying spree, purchasing more than 46,000 shares in the takeover target, TravelCentres, without his wife’s knowledge, weeks before the deal was announced on 16 February 2023. TravelCentres of America’s stock soared by nearly 71% after the deal was announced. Loudon then sold off all of his shares, making a $1.8m profit.

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[-] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 193 points 9 months ago

It’s easy to blame working from home for this but the fact is that this happens all the time, and has happened even when everyone was in office. The problem is people breaking the law, not people not having to commute.

In this case this idiot seriously thought no one would notice. They did, he’s going to jail. The system worked. No reason to make this about anything other than his behavior.

[-] harsh3466@lemmy.ml 66 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Based on how the article is written, it sounds like no one would have noticed if his (now ex) wife hadn’t ratted him out to her bosses.

[-] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 52 points 9 months ago

Because she’s liable too. He broke the law and implicated her in a crime.

That also doesn’t have anything to do with working from home. Insider trading based on information you gleaned from your spouse’s or friend’s or mom’s job has been happening for as long as the stock market has been in existence. Would the situation be different if she had been talking about how excited she was about this merger over dinner and he’d acted on that information? The burden is on him to not break the law, but employers will use stuff like this to stupidly argue against working from home.

[-] harsh3466@lemmy.ml 54 points 9 months ago

What’s frustratingly awful about this is that US Senators and Representatives become millionaires doing exactly this, and the SEC doesn’t even blink.

Did he break the law? Yes. Is the SEC a joke and the law used to punish and oppress the proletariat, also yes.

[-] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 11 points 9 months ago

Come on, you can’t expect them not to break little laws like that. The money is right there! Why shouldn’t they just take some? \s

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

Does she get to keep her half of the 1.8 mill?

[-] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago

No, it is forfeit.

[-] harsh3466@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago

Asking the real questions here.

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this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2024
189 points (94.8% liked)

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