(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged eBay Inc.’s former Director of SEC Reporting with insider trading ahead of Xoom Corporation’s acquisition by PayPal Holdings, which at the time was owned by eBay.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Bryan B. Long, a CPA who was employed as eBay’s Director of SEC Reporting, obtained material non-public information about PayPal’s impending acquisition of Xoom in the course of his work preparing PayPal’s SEC filings. According to the complaint, Long purchased Xoom call options in late May 2015 shortly after PayPal made its initial acquisition offer. Approximately one month later, after learning that the deal was moving forward and could be announced in “early July,” Long allegedly engaged in a second round of illegal trades, purchasing additional Xoom call options that were due to expire in less than a month. As alleged in the complaint, Long reaped almost $36,000 in ill-gotten gains by selling all of the options after PayPal announced it was acquiring Xoom on July 1, 2015.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in the Northern District of California, charges Long with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, pre-judgment interest, and civil monetary penalties.
