Husband of BP executive jailed for insider trading | Wilnesh News

ex-husband’s ex-husband blood pressure M&A manager sentenced Two years in federal prison Insider trading netted him $1.76 million after eavesdropping on her work phone calls An oil major acquires another company.

Ex-boyfriend Tyler Loudon was also sentenced to one year of supervised release and fined $10,000 after his release from prison U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake on Monday.

Louden’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, asked Lake to sentence him to one year of home confinement followed by two years of supervised release, citing, among other things, the need to care for Louden’s ailing mother.

The prison sentence was at the lower end of the range of 24 months to 30 months sought by federal prosecutors.

Loudon, as part of his plea to the charges securities fraud In February, he had agreed to give up illegal profits he made by selling nearly 46,500 shares of TravelCenters of America in February 2023 after the company’s stock price surged more than 70% on news that it was being acquired by BP for about $1.3 billion. .

The 42-year-old Houston resident, an engineer for an oil and gas company, bought TravelCenters stock for about $2 million in the months starting in December 2022.

According to court records, he made the purchase after eavesdropping on his wife’s phone calls at work about BP’s acquisition of TravelCenters and then discussing the deal with her in the manner of a “normal” married couple.

Records show Louden’s wiretapping occurred while he and his wife were working remotely “in close proximity” to each other due to the Covid-19 pandemic at the time.

After learning that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority had requested a list of “people with knowledge of the matter” from BP ahead of the TravelCenters deal, Loudon “felt guilty and terrified” when he “confessed” to his wife what he had done in March 2023. Court documents, finalized.

Louden’s wife, who was not accused of wrongdoing, reported his conduct to BP supervisors and was eventually fired, court records show. She also divorced Loudon.

A sentencing memorandum filed by Louden’s attorneys last week said that at the time he purchased TravelCenters, Louden was a “frequent day trader of stocks” and that his “marriage had been under tremendous strain due to multiple moves and job changes.” Pressure” for him and his wife.

“Mr. Loudon became concerned that his marriage was in jeopardy and this event was particularly heavy on his mind due to the divorce he had experienced as a child,” the memo states.

“Mr. Louden was completely mistaken in his belief that money could somehow help alleviate the marital stress the couple was facing, and as a result he made the fateful decision to betray his wife’s trust and his own better judgment,” the memo states.

Zeitenberg told CNBC on Wednesday: “Taylor deeply regrets his actions, has accepted responsibility, and looks forward to putting this matter behind him and moving on with his life.”

Zeidenberg noted in his sentencing memorandum that Loudon lost his job and marriage as a result of his actions and because “(he) had little realistic hope of future employment in the engineering field and future employment as a result of this conviction.” The outlook is extremely bleak.

“No matter what sentence the court imposes, Mr. Louden will pay for his poor judgment throughout his life,” Zeidenberg wrote.

“Insider trading is rampant, extremely difficult to detect, and adversely affects the integrity of financial markets and the public’s perception of the markets,” U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani of Houston said in a statement. .

“Such violations undermine public confidence in the integrity of the market and lead to widespread suspicion that the market is rigged to benefit a lucky few,” Hamdani said. “Mr. Loudon was able to commit this crime because “Because he had an unfair advantage: his spouse was an insider who provided him with material nonpublic information.”

Loudon’s attorneys argued in their sentencing memorandum that insider trading cases involving spouses generally do not result in criminal charges in cases where no one else but the spouse was privy to the nonpublic information.

“In fact, civil, non-criminal dispositions are the typical manner in which such cases are handled,” the memo states, citing nine SEC lawsuits.

“Most, if not all, insider trading cases involving spouses that result in criminal prosecution typically involve aggravating facts not listed here,” Zeidenberg wrote.

Louden faces a separate civil lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission over his insider trading. The civil case, like his criminal case, is overseen by Judge Lake.

On May 3, Lake ordered SEC attorneys and Zeidenberg to either agree to a final ruling in the case or submit a briefing schedule on the agency’s request for monetary relief within 30 days.