Fri, November 15

SEC Charges Ex-US Congressman For Violating Securities Exchange Act

SEC Charges Ex-US Congressman For Violating Securities Exchange Act Editors News
  • Stephen Buyer has been charged with insider trading by SEC.
  • Stephen purchased more than $1.5 million worth of Sprint and Navigant Consultancy stock.

The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Stephen Earle Buyer, a former US representative for Indiana’s 4th congressional district, with insider trading on July 26, 2022. SEC has filed suit in federal district court in Manhattan alleging that Stephen Buyer violated Rule 10b-5 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

This complaint claims allegations against Stephen Buyer, for both criminal and civil actions, with insider trading for buying shares from the firms with secret information.

Accusation On The Representative Officer

Stephen Buyer is accused of using several investment accounts owned or co-owned by his wife, his son, and his cousin to purchase shares of stock after obtaining secret information while working as a consultant, for two different organizations, after leaving Congress in 2011. 

According to the prosecution, Stephen purchased more than $1.5 million worth of Sprint and Navigant Consultancy stock in 2018 and 2019 using insider knowledge he gained through consulting work. 

In 2018, after learning about Sprint’s merger with T-Mobile, he purchased Sprint Common Stock for a total of $568,000 from multiple accounts. Following the announcement of the merger, Stephen profited over $107,000. 

Also, Stephen Buyer bought more than $1 million worth of Navigant Consulting stock in 2019. The SEC allegiance that Stephen sold nearly all of the shares he had bought across the multiple accounts in August 2019, on the day the Navigant acquisition was made public, and made a profit of over $227,000.

The complaint sought a permanent prohibition, disgorgement of ill-gotten profits, interest, penalty, and an officer and director bar against Stephen Buyer. Additionally, Buyer’s wife, Joni Lynn Buyer, who benefited when Buyer made illegal trades in her brokerage account, is being sued for disgorgement.

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