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A lawyer who was fired from Apple has been charged by prosecutors in the US with insider trading.
Gene Levoff, former global head of corporate law and corporate secretary for the iPhone maker, is accused of exploiting his position to access confidential information about the company’s quarterly earnings prior to them being made public, for his own personal gain.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission claims that Mr Levoff made 382,000 US dollars (£297,488) in combined profits and losses avoided, by illegally trading off Apple securities before three quarterly earnings announcements in 2015 and 2016.
Court documents say that Mr Levoff also made 245,000 US dollars (£190,868) from insider trading offences in 2011 and 2012, violating the antifraud provisions and breaching his duty of confidentiality to Apple and its shareholders.
“Levoff’s alleged exploitation of his access to Apple’s financial information was particularly egregious given his responsibility for implementing the company’s insider trading compliance policy,” said Antonia Chion, associate director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
“The SEC is committed to pursuing insiders who breach their duties to investors.”
Mr Levoff, who was fired by Apple in September last year, faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a five million dollar (£3.8 million) fine if convicted.
