SEC charges former employee of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond with insider trading

[bernorange 8373]

Quote

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Robert Brian Thompson.

The relevant complaint, seen by FX News Group, was submitted at the Virginia Eastern District Court on November 8, 2024.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from at least October 2023 through January 2024 (the “Relevant Period”), Thompson, then a senior banking supervisor and examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, unlawfully traded in stocks and options of at least two banks that were under his supervisory purview based on inside information.

As a senior employee at the Federal Reserve Bank – one of twelve regional Federal Reserve banks that supervise and regulate the U.S. banking system under the oversight of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System – Thompson had regular access to material nonpublic information about numerous publicly-traded banks, including unreleased earnings data; capital, liquidity, and risk levels; and records of bank examinations, stress tests, and other regulatory events.

For that reason, the Federal Reserve’s policies and procedures required Thompson to keep confidential (and not use for any non-official purposes) all nonpublic information obtained through his work.

In addition, a federal regulation prohibited Thompson from trading in bank securities altogether, given the conflict of interest such trading would create with his supervisory and regulatory responsibilities.

However, during the Relevant Period, Thompson used material nonpublic information that he obtained through his work at the Federal Reserve Bank to trade in stock and options of at least two publicly-traded banks within his supervisory portfolio – New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYCB) and Capital One Financial Corporation.

Thompson attempted to evade scrutiny for his unlawful trading by submitting false certifications to the Federal Reserve. Thompson’s certifications falsely represented that he had no bank securities holdings and had not engaged in any trading prohibited by law or Federal Reserve policy, which he knew was untrue.
...

https://fxnewsgroup.com/forex-news/regulatory/sec-charges-former-employee-of-federal-reserve-bank-of-richmond-with-insider-trading/

Who did he piss off so that he is actually getting prosecuted?

[Wally Fairway 5600]

Insert George Costanza {was that wrong gif}, and photoshop George sitting at the coffee shop next to Nancy Pelosi

[52-80 19277]

Very disappointed that someone breaking securities law to do insider trading only got $600k out of it. 

Like getting caught street racing in a Hyundai Elantra.

Bush league. 

[bernorange 8373]

Quote

... Robert Brian Thompson, has pleaded guilty to committing insider trading and lying about it to his employer. This case has caught the attention of many because of the high-profile position Thompson held and the serious crimes he committed while working in that role.
...
Robert Brian Thompson’s actions have now caught up with him. He has pleaded guilty to two serious charges: one for insider trading and one for making false statements. Insider trading, which is the act of using confidential information to make money in the stock market, carries very severe penalties. Thompson could face up to 20 years in prison for this crime. On top of that, making false statements on official forms is also a serious offense, and Thompson could face an additional five years in prison for that charge.

Robert Brian Thompson’s sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2025, where a federal judge will determine the final punishment. The judge will take into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which are a set of rules to help judges decide how long someone should be sentenced based on their crimes, and other factors that could affect his punishment.
...

More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/robert-brian-thompson-pleads-guilty-to-insider-trading-and-lying-to-the-federal-reserve/ar-AA1upT8X

This article says he earned $772k in profits from the insider trading.

Edited November 20 by bernorange

[Parliament 14368]

They nailed him as a diversion for worse shit. 

[Updawg 2301]

Isn’t still legal for congress and the senate ?

Not that much matters these days

[TwiceHorn 31676]

7 minutes ago, Updawg said:

Isn’t still legal for congress and the senate ?

Not that much matters these days

No, Congress doesn't have any particular exemption from the securities laws.  What is under consideration, sort of, is forcing Congress critters not to invest in the market directly, period.

The Speech and Debate clause probably makes it quite difficult to prove an insider trading case, assuming the insider information comes from congressional action.

[bernorange 8373]

NOCR:

 

[UTPhil2006 3828]

I mean they don't have the Pelosi trading tracker Twitter for no reason.