The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that in its most recent instance regarding couples who eavesdrop while working from home, a Texas man profited over US$2 million (S$2.7 million) by unlawfully trading on his wife’s discussions with her BP coworkers. Tyler Loudon purchased TravelCenters of America shares for months, the SEC reported on February 22. When the British oil giant BP announced in February 2023 that it was purchasing TravelCenters of America at a 74% premium, Loudon profited US$1.76 million from the liquidation of his brokerage and retirement accounts.
According to the regulator, his wife, who was working on the deal at the time as a BP mergers and acquisitions manager, was not aware of his trading. Sued by the SEC and US prosecutors in Texas, Loudon allegedly got the idea to purchase TravelCenters from his wife, who was working on the deal from a home office six miles away. She moved out of the house and eventually filed for divorce after he eventually admitted to her. The SEC claims that once she informed BP about his trades, the company fired her even though there was no proof she purposefully leaked the agreement. Loudon consented to pay a fine and forfeit the money he earned from the trades as part of his settlement.
The regulator claimed that Loudon did not refute the SEC’s accusations and instead agreed to a ban on him from holding executive positions at publicly traded companies. BP said it would not comment. The British oil firm gained access to a network of US gas stations with the agreement to purchase TravelCenters of America for approximately US$1.3 billion. TravelCenters operated a network of 281 stores in 44 states at the time of the purchase. The SEC has launched numerous insider trading cases using information overheard or observed while working from home with a significant other since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which marked the beginning of the work-from-home period.
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