Apple’s former senior lawyer, who implemented the insider trading policy, pleaded guilty to implementing an insider trading scheme, which the prosecutor said was trading stocks before the company announced that it had fallen short of iPhone sales expectations.
In 2019, the Justice Department will use non-public information about Apple’s financial results to avoid losses and profits from Gene Levoff, Apple’s senior executive in corporate law until it was dismissed in late 2018. I was charged with collecting and illegally trading at the same time. Company revenue report.
Between 2011 and 2016, Reboff avoided a $ 377,000 loss and announced good news before Apple announced bad news about the iPhone business, according to a document filed in Newark’s U.S. District Court. Earn more than $ 220,000 before doing so. The transaction violated a quarterly “blackout period” that prohibited transactions by individuals with access to important non-public information.
In the 2015 example, Levoff sold $ 10 million in Apple stock before the company reported that it would miss an analyst’s estimate of iPhone sales.
According to the first complaint, Levoff made several transactions after sending an email to an Apple employee. According to Apple’s Insider Trading Policy, individuals with important non-public information about the company are not allowed to trade until 60 hours after that information is published.
“This defendant took full advantage of his position within the company for financial gain that would not have been otherwise possible,” said the FBI agent at the Newark office, which led the investigation. Special Agent Terence Riley said. “It is called” institutional abuse. ” “
Leboff’s lawyer declined to comment. Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
In 2020, Mr. Lebov’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the proceedings, alleging that the complaint was unconstitutional because there was no law prohibiting insider trading. However, Judge William Martini dismissed the allegations, saying the argument was “incorrect” and that Congress passed a law to ensure a “fair and honest market.”
Before he was fired, Mr. Leboff reported to Apple’s legal counsel. He was a member of Apple’s Disclosure Committee, a group that helped prepare Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri before making quarterly disclosures to investors.
The number of securities frauds in Mr. Lebov’s plea can be fined up to 20 years and $ 5 million. The sentencing is scheduled for November 10.
Another proceeding by the Securities and Exchange Commission is still pending. The agency sought a ruling requiring Mr. Lebov to repay the profits he earned from the transaction.
