Evercore fired Hixon in January after the company investigated trades linked to him, the firm said in a statement.

‘Professional Standards’

“We have never had a situation like this before in Evercore’s nearly 20-year history,” the firm said. “This conduct is completely inconsistent with our culture and professional standards.”

Hixon worked at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC from 2002 to 2010, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He joined Evercore in 2010 to lead its mining, metals and materials advisory group.

Hixon’s scheme ran from October 2011 to January 2013, prosecutors said. He bought stock in Texas billionaire Harold Simmons’s Titanium Metals Corp., a maker of titanium used in the aerospace industry, before a November 2012 announcement that it would be acquired by Portland, Oregon-based Precision Castparts Corp. for $2.9 billion, they said.

Hixon learned of the deal on Oct. 23, 2012, after Evercore was asked to make a presentation to the Titanium board concerning a potential transaction, they said. He attended the meeting by teleconference from London.

Metals Expertise

“Hixon was invited to participate in the meeting because of his expertise in the metals industry,” according to a criminal complaint.

Within two hours, a brokerage account belonging to Robinson was accessed from London and bought 20,000 Titanium shares, authorities said. A week later, Hixon had a two-minute phone call with his father and purchased more shares, they said.

Hixon sold the stock beginning on Nov. 12, the day the deal was announced, from an online account he accessed from Austin, authorities said.