A Texas man, Tyler Loudon, has pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges related to insider trading, with allegations indicating he eavesdropped on his wife’s work calls to gain illicit information about a potential acquisition involving TravelCenters of America, a fuel and truck stop operator.
Loudon, residing in Houston, reportedly garnered $1.76 million through unauthorized trades based on nonpublic details of the potential TravelCenters acquisition being handled by his wife, a former manager in merger and acquisitions at BP. This revelation comes from U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas. Loudon is scheduled for sentencing on May 17 and could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison along with a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea, he has agreed to forfeit the $1.76 million in illegal profits.
Simultaneously, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a civil complaint against Loudon for the same misconduct, a charge he has not contested.
Loudon’s attorney, Peter Zeidenberg, stated to CNBC, “Mr. Loudon made a terrible mistake in judgment for which he has taken full responsibility.”
Authorities allege that in 2022, while working remotely due to pandemic-related policies, Loudon overheard confidential discussions about BP’s potential acquisition of TravelCenters. This reportedly occurred while Loudon and his wife were both working from a small Airbnb in Rome, where he secretly listened to his wife’s work calls.
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in a Houston federal court, Loudon continued eavesdropping on his wife’s conversations about the acquisition, even after returning from Rome. The couple worked in close proximity, with their home offices situated just 20 feet apart.
While Loudon’s wife occasionally discussed work matters, including the acquisition, in typical marital conversations, Loudon allegedly accumulated 46,450 shares of TravelCenters without her knowledge. He liquidated all his existing investments, including positions in his brokerage account and Roth IRA, totaling over $2 million, to purchase TravelCenters shares.
Upon TravelCenters’ announcement of its acquisition by BP on February 16, 2023, leading to a 71% surge in its stock price, Loudon sold all his shares, netting a profit of $1.76 million, as per the U.S. attorney’s office.
Following inquiries by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) into individuals privy to the acquisition details, a former BP employee contacted Loudon’s wife, prompting her to inform Loudon. In a subsequent conversation, Loudon confessed to his wife about his illegal trading activities, stating he did it to alleviate her workload.
Loudon’s wife reported the insider trading to her BP supervisor but was later terminated from her position. She filed for divorce from Loudon in June, according to the SEC complaint.
