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A Texas man made nearly $2 million by illegally trading his wife’s conversations with BP co-workers, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in its latest case involving a couple eavesdropping while working from home.
Tyler Loudon has been buying shares of TravelCenters of America Inc. for several months, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday. He liquidated his brokerage and retirement accounts, and in February 2023, when BP announced it was acquiring TravelCenters of America for a 74% premium, Louden made a $1.76 million profit. Regulators said his wife, who was a mergers and acquisitions manager at BP at the time, was responsible for the deal but was unaware of his dealings.
According to a lawsuit filed by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney in Texas, Taylor came up with the idea to acquire TravelCenters after learning about the potential deal from his wife, who was working on it in her home office 20 feet away. This deal. When he finally confessed his love to her, she moved out of the house and later filed for divorce. She reported her trades to BP, which subsequently fired her, according to the SEC, although it found no evidence that she knowingly leaked the trades.
As part of the settlement, Loudon agreed to give up the money he made on the deal and pay a penalty. Loudon’s attorney, Peter Zeitenberg, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BP declined to comment.
The deal to buy TravelCenters of America Inc. for about $1.3 billion gives the British oil giant access to a network of U.S. gas stations. At the time of the transaction, TravelCenters’ network consisted of 281 locations in 44 states.
Since the start of the work-from-home era at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SEC has brought numerous insider trading cases involving information overheard or seen while working from home with significant others.
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Louden’s wiretapping practices expanded abroad. During the trip to Rome, Loudon sat next to his wife as she worked on TravelCenters transactions in a small rented apartment, the SEC said.
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