An information technology worker who snooped on forthcoming stock picks from The Motley Fool advisory service and traded ahead of the public release of those recommendations is heading to jail for securities fraud.
Last year, David Stone, an Idaho-based IT professional, pled guilty to one count of securities fraud in connection with an insider trading scheme that involved using an unauthorized login to view the service’s recommendations before they became public, and then front running those recommendations.
Stone allegedly generated about US$4.8 million in profits from his own trading, and shared the stolen information with another trader, John Robson, who allegedly made US$2.7 million in profits on the tips as well.
Now, Stone has been sentenced to 28 months in prison by a U.S. district court judge. In addition to the prison time, Stone was ordered to serve three years of supervised release; forfeit US$2.9 million, along with certain shares; pay US$344,000 in restitution to The Motley Fool; and pay a US$20,000 fine.
“David Stone unlawfully accessed pre-publication stock picks from an investment advice service so that he could beat the markets and generate millions in trading profits for himself,” said Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a release. “Today’s sentence reflects that this office will find and prosecute those who seek to profit at the expense of the integrity and fairness of our financial markets.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a parallel civil action against Stone and Robson last year, alleging they violated federal securities laws.
In its action, the SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement with pre-judgment interest and penalties against Stone and Robson, and disgorgement and pre-judgment interest against four others — two of Stone’s family members and two of Robson’s friends — “whose brokerage accounts placed similar trades and generated approximately US$5 million by trading ahead of The Motley Fool stock picks.”