In a startling case emerging from Houston, United States, Tyler Loudan, a man working remotely alongside his wife during the pandemic, has pleaded guilty to fraud after making an illicit fortune of USD 1.7 million by eavesdropping on his wife’s office conversations.
Loudan’s wife, employed as a manager and acquisition manager at BP, an oil and gas conglomerate based in London, unwittingly became the source of insider information.
During a routine work-from-home conversation, she revealed confidential plans of BP’s intent to acquire a truck shop and a TravelCentre company in Ohio, USA.
Seizing the opportunity, Loudan took swift action. The US Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that he purchased 46,000 shares of the truck stop company before the official merger announcement in February 2023, causing the stock prices to surge by an astounding 71 percent. Loudan promptly liquidated his holdings, reaping a hefty profit of USD 1.76 million.
Loudan’s wife didn’t even know about his insider trading, according to the US Attorney’s office for the southern district of Texas. The insider gains didn’t go unnoticed, however legal action followed quickly.
A lawsuit was filed against Loudan, alleging that he acquired TravelCenters shares illicitly, leveraging the insider information garnered from his wife’s professional conversations. Facing the consequences of his actions, Loudan confessed to his wife, leading to a divorce and her subsequent termination from BP, despite her proactive disclosure of the situation to the company.
Loudan faces a potential 5-year prison term, USD 250,000 fine, and a civil lawsuit for his fraudulent activities.