The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an emergency court order Thursday freezing the assets of two Virginia traders who allegedly used insider information to make nearly $1 million on the Intel’s purchase of Mobileye last month.
Lawrence F. Cluff Jr. and Roger E. Shaoul used insider information about the acquisition and purchased securities from Mobileye, an Israel-based firm, before the acquisition was announced, the SEC says. Mobileye securities were at $47.27 before the announcement and closed at $60.62 the day of the announcement, March 13.
The SEC says it saw suspicious trading activities in two accounts owned by Cluff. Shaoul impersonated Cluff in order to start issuing trading instructions to accumulate more Mobileye call options for Cluff, the SEC says, adding that Cluff made a $925,000 profit through the trading.