Man Eavesdrops on Wife to Steal Company Information; Makes $1.76 Million via Insider Trading

Insider trading is one of the most prevalent scams plaguing the stock market, as shady players obtain confidential information about firms, that they later use for making profits by strategically buying or selling shares ahead of announcements that can influence change in their prices. In yet another case of insider trading, a man has admitted to earning $1.76 million by listening in on his wife's work calls while they were both working from home. The business call that his wife was on, revealed details about the acquisition of TravelCenters of America, a company that operates gas stations and truck stops and that's when the illegal trade was made.

Legal action by SEC

Tyler Loudon, who lives in Houston, made a fortune of $1.76 million from trades made to manipulate the information that he had stolen. This money came from knowing details about the potential agreement that the general public had no idea about. Now Tyler Loudon, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani in Texas, may face up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine. He also agreed to repay the $1.76 million that he earned from fraudulent deals.

Authorities also stated that in 2022 while many couples were working from home due to pandemic-related rules, Loudon overheard his wife's call about  BP's confidential plans to acquire TravelCenters while working remotely. The SEC stated that the couple typically worked in the same room at home, about 20 feet apart, and often overheard each other's  private work conversations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also initiated a legal action against Loudon for the same conduct, which he did not contest. According to Loudon's lawyer, Peter Zeidenberg, "Mr. Loudon made a terrible mistake in judgment for which he has taken full responsibility."

Breach of trust

According to the regulator, Loudon purchased 46,450 shares of TravelCenters stock without informing his wife before the transaction became public. On February 16, 2023, the stock price went up by more than 71% after the news TravelCenters acquisition by BP was announced and Loudon sold all of the shares he had purchased, generating a huge sum of profit, according to the SEC. The SEC charged Tyler Loudon with insider trading, claiming that he "used his remote work setup and his wife's trust to make money from confidential information."

Confession and fallout

When Loudon discovered that BP was looking into who had previous knowledge of the agreement, he confessed to his wife about his actions. According to the SEC complaint, Loudon justified his actions by claiming that he wanted his wife to maybe retire and work less. His wife, a BP mergers and acquisitions manager, told her bosses of Loudon's confession and illegal trade of shares which resulted in her being fired despite revealing the truth and no legal evidence. 

Following this, she moved out of their shared house and filed for divorce a few months later. She also ignored a handwritten apologetic note from Loudon, who was sorry about everything that happened and also regretted breaching her confidence, as claimed in the complaint.