- A Houston man pleaded guilty to insider trading after making $1.76 million.
- He listened to his wife's calls about BP's plan to buy TravelCenters of America as they worked remotely.
- Tyler Loudon's wife has moved out of their home and started divorce proceedings.
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A Houston man has pleaded guilty to insider trading after making $1.76 million in illegal profits by listening in on his wife's work calls while she worked from home.
Tyler Loudon, 42, admitted buying thousands of shares of TravelCenters of America ahead of its $1.3 billion takeover by British oil and gas company BP in February 2023, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S said. Hamdani.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged in a separate civil lawsuit that Loudon, who was married to a BP executive, overheard conversations about the proposed acquisition.
The SEC said the couple typically worked 20 feet apart at home and often overheard each other's work-related conversations.
The regulator said that before the deal was announced, Loudon purchased 46,450 shares of TravelCenters without his wife's knowledge.
After the announcement, the stock price rose nearly 71% and Loudon sold everything he bought for a profit, the SEC said.
The SEC has charged Tyler Loudon with insider trading. It was alleged that he “exploited his remote working conditions and his wife's trust to profit from information he knew was confidential.”
After learning that BP was scrutinizing who had prior knowledge of the deal, Loudon confessed to his wife what he had done. He told her he did it because he didn't want her to have to work long hours anymore, the SEC complaint says.
His wife, a mergers and acquisitions manager at BP, told her superiors about Loudon's revelations and was subsequently fired, even though there was no evidence of wrongdoing on her part.
She then moved out of their shared home and began divorce proceedings several months later, ignoring a handwritten note from Loudon apologizing for the breach of trust, according to the complaint.
The SEC noted that Loudon did not contest the allegations and agreed to a partial judgment, subject to court approval.
It would prohibit him from holding certain leadership positions in the company and require him to pay a fine.