FORMER MICROSOFT PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND BUSINESS PARTNER CHARGED WITH INSIDER TRADING BY SEC

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a senior portfolio manager at Microsoft Corporation and his friend and business partner with insider trading ahead of company announcements.

The SEC alleges that Brian D. Jorgenson, who lives in Lynwood, Wash., obtained confidential information about upcoming company news through his work in Microsoft’s corporate finance and investments division.  Jorgenson tipped Sean T. Stokke of Seattle in advance of the Microsoft announcements, the most recent occurring in October.  After Stokke traded on the inside information that Jorgenson provided, the two equally split the illicit profits in their shared brokerage accounts.  They made joint trading decisions with the goal of generating enough profits to create their own hedge fund.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington today announced criminal charges against Jorgenson and Stokke.

“Abusing access to Microsoft’s confidential information and generating unlawful trading profits is not a wise or legal business model for starting a hedge fund,” said Daniel M. Hawke, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit and director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office.  “We thwarted the misguided plans of Jorgenson and Stokke as they sought to illegally profit at others’ expense.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, Jorgenson and Stokke made a combined $393,125 in illicit profits in their scheme, which began in April 2012.

The SEC alleges that Stokke first traded in advance of a public announcement that Microsoft intended to invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble’s e-reader business.  Jorgenson learned of the impending transaction after his department became involved in the financing aspects of the deal.  Jorgenson tipped Stokke so he could purchase approximately $14,000 worth of call options on Barnes & Noble common stock.  Following a joint public announcement on April 30, Barnes & Noble’s stock price closed at $20.75 per share, a 51.68 percent increase from the previous day.  Jorgenson and Stokke made nearly $185,000 in ill-gotten trading profits.

The SEC alleges that Stokke later traded in advance of Microsoft’s fourth-quarter earnings announcement in July 2013.  As part of his duties at Microsoft, Jorgenson prepared a written analysis of how the market would react to the negative news that Microsoft’s fourth quarter earnings were more than 11 percent below consensus estimates.  He estimated that Microsoft’s stock price would decline by at least six percent.  Jorgenson tipped this confidential information to Stokke, who purchased almost $50,000 worth of Microsoft options.  After Microsoft’s announcement on July 18, its stock price declined more than 11 percent the next day from $35.44 to $31.40 per share.  Jorgenson and Stokke realized more than $195,000 in illicit profits.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Stokke traded in advance of another Microsoft announcement on Oct. 24, 2013.  Jorgenson was aware that the company would be announcing first quarter 2014 earnings that were more than 14 percent higher than consensus estimates.  Rather than purchase Microsoft securities directly, Jorgenson and Stokke purchased more than $45,000 worth of call options on an exchange-traded fund in which Microsoft comprised more than eight percent of the fund’s holdings.  Following the announcement, Microsoft’s share price increased nearly six percent and the price of the ETF increased 0.51 percent.  Jorgenson and Stokke made approximately $13,000 in illegal trading profits.

Jorgenson and Stokke are charged with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, both directly and pursuant to 20(d) of the Exchange Act.  The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and financial penalties against Jorgenson and Stokke as well as an officer-and-director bar against Jorgenson.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Brendan P. McGlynn, Patricia A. Paw, John S. Rymas, and Daniel L. Koster of the Philadelphia Regional Office.  The SEC’s litigation will be led by John V. Donnelly and G. Jeffery Boujoukos.

The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Options Regulatory Surveillance Authority, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

CHARGES FILED IN SEC'S LARGEST EVER INSIDER TRADING CASE

Photo Credit:  SEC

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

November 20, 2012

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Stamford, Conn.-based hedge fund advisory firm CR Intrinsic Investors LLC and its former portfolio manager along with a medical consultant for an expert network firm for their roles in a $276 million insider trading scheme involving a clinical trial for an Alzheimer's drug being jointly developed by two pharmaceutical companies. The illicit gains generated in this scheme make it the largest insider trading case ever charged by the SEC.

The SEC alleges that Mathew Martoma illegally obtained confidential details about the clinical trial from Dr. Sidney Gilman, who served as chairman of the safety monitoring committee overseeing the trial. Dr. Gilman was selected by Elan Corporation and Wyeth to present the final drug trial results to the public. In phone calls that were arranged by a New York-based expert network firm for which he moonlighted as a medical consultant, Dr. Gilman tipped Martoma with safety data and eventually details about negative results in the trial about two weeks before they were made public in July 2008. Martoma then caused several hedge funds to sell more than $960 million in Elan and Wyeth securities in just over a week.

Dr. Gilman, who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he works as a medical school professor, has agreed to settle the SEC's charges and cooperate in this action and related SEC investigations. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Martoma and a non-prosecution agreement with Dr. Gilman. Martoma lives in Boca Raton, Fla.

According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, Martoma first met Dr. Gilman through paid consultations arranged by the expert network firm. Dr. Gilman provided Martoma with material nonpublic information concerning the Phase II trial of the potential Alzheimer's drug called bapineuzumab (bapi). They coordinated their expert network consultations around scheduled safety monitoring committee meetings, and during their phone calls they discussed PowerPoint presentations made during the meetings and Dr. Gilman provided Martoma with his perspective on the results. Dr. Gilman developed a personal relationship with Martoma, eventually coming to view Martoma as a friend and pupil.

The SEC alleges that Martoma caused hedge funds managed by CR Intrinsic as well as hedge funds managed by an affiliated investment adviser to trade on the negative inside information he received from Dr. Gilman. Although Elan and Wyeth's shares rose on June 17, 2008, on the public release of top-line results of the Phase II trial, market participants were disappointed by the detailed final results issued on July 29, 2008. Double-digit declines in Elan and Wyeth shares ensued. After Martoma was tipped, the hedge funds not only liquidated their combined long position in Elan and Wyeth of more than $700 million, but went on to hold substantial short positions in both securities. This massive repositioning allowed CR Intrinsic and the affiliated advisory firm to reap approximately $82 million in profits and $194 million in avoided losses for a total of more than $276 million in illicit gains.

According to the SEC's complaint, Martoma received a $9.3 million bonus at the end of 2008 - a significant portion of which was attributable to the illegal profits that the hedge funds managed by CR Intrinsic and the other investment advisory firm had generated in this scheme. Dr. Gilman, who was generally paid $1,000 per hour as a consultant for the expert network firm, received more than $100,000 for his consultations with Martoma and others at the hedge fund advisory firms. Dr. Gilman also received approximately $79,000 from Elan for his consultations concerning bapi in 2007 and 2008.

The SEC's complaint charges each of the defendants with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, and seeks a final judgment ordering them to disgorge their ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, ordering them to pay financial penalties, and permanently enjoining them from future violations of these provisions of the federal securities laws.

Dr. Gilman has agreed to pay more than $234,000 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest. He also agreed to a permanent injunction against further violations of the federal securities laws. The proposed settlement is subject to approval by the court, which also will determine at a later date whether any additional financial penalty is appropriate.