A former vice president and controller of Company A, a publicly traded consumer-packaged goods company known for its popular fitness drink, admitted to engaging in insider trading, which scored him over $1.6 million in illegal profits. Stephen George, 54, of Parkland, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud, as per the announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The court records indicated that George, who worked in the finance department of the Boca Raton-based business from November 2017 until April 2023, had leveraged sensitive, non-public information to make personally lucrative stock transactions.
Details emerged that on April 7, 2023, George's last day at the company, he used a Company A computer to swiftly generate a consolidated income statement revealing significant first-quarter earnings that were yet to be made public. He then emailed this information to himself using personal email accounts. Subsequently, beginning on April 10 and through May 8, George purchased 20,000 shares of common stock and 300 call option contracts of Company A, based on that non-public financial data.
Following Company A's public announcement of their record-breaking quarterly earnings on May 9, after the market close, the stock's value climbed sharply. The next day, George sold all shares and option contracts, resulting in his multi-million dollar windfall. George now waits sentencing, scheduled for April 28, and could face a maximum of 20 years in prison. A federal judge will determine the sentence, considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines among other factors.
An investigation carried out by the FBI Miami Field Office with help from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group led to George’s conviction. In a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne stressed George’s guilty plea. Meanwhile, Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin E. Fleck noted the seriousness of the crimes while thanking those involved in the investigation.
This case wasn't isolated; it followed closely behind three other guilty pleas from an unrelated insider trading case involving Mas Tec Inc.’s acquisition of Infrastructure and Energy Alternative, Inc. The individuals involved netted over $1.1 million in illegal profits, demonstrating a continued vigilance required to combat these fraudulent activities. For more detailed information, the public is directed to review court documents from the Southern District of Florida's District Court or the U.S. Attorney’s Office website.
