2023-07-26 sec-litreleases litigation_release 67 KB 3,743 chars

SEC v. Joseph C. Lewis; Carolyn W. Carter; Patrick J. O'Connor; Bryan L. Waugh; and Jean J. O'Connor, No. LR-25789, Southern District of New York (July 26, 2023) — Press Release

raw: Joseph C. Lewis, et al.

Joseph C. Lewis, et al., No. 1:23-cv-06438 (S.D.N.Y. July 26, 2023)

Caption
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Lewis
summary

Investor Joseph C. Lewis was charged by the SEC for tipping material nonpublic information to his girlfriend and two pilots, resulting in over $545,000 in combined insider trading profits.

paragraph

The SEC charged Joseph C. Lewis, Carolyn W. Carter, Patrick J. O'Connor, and Bryan L. Waugh with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The defendants allegedly used nonpublic biotechnology fund information to generate combined profits exceeding $545,000 between July and October 2019. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctive relief, civil penalties, and the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.

narrative

The SEC charged investor Joseph C. Lewis and three associates—Carolyn W. Carter, Patrick J. O'Connor, and Bryan L. Waugh—with insider trading involving biotechnology portfolio companies. Between July and October 2019, Lewis allegedly tipped material nonpublic information regarding capital raises and clinical trial results to Carter and his two private pilots. These trades generated combined profits of more than $545,000, supported by Lewis providing $500,000 loans to his pilots to execute their trades. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and disgorgement of gains from the three associates. In addition to the civil charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York filed parallel criminal charges against Lewis. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the SEC, the FBI, and FINRA.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
insider-trading (100%)
Court
Southern District of New York
Case No.
1:23-cv-06438
Victim loss
$700,000
Entity
Joseph C. Lewis
Classified insider-trading(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms 4/3/5/144· recall 81% / precision 19%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionJoseph C. LewisCarolyn W. CarterBryan L. WaughPatrick J. O'ConnorJean J. O'Connor
Keywords
lewiso'connor waughcarterjoseph lewiso'connorinformationsecurities exchangematerial nonpublicnonpublic informationcarter o'connorwaughsecsec'sexchange commissionshare price

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 5
  • $700K $700,000 $100K–$1M
  • $545K $545,000 $100K–$1M
  • $500K $500,000 $100K–$1M
  • $373K $373,000 $100K–$1M
  • $172K $172,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 6
  • person carolyn w. carter
  • person Joseph C. Lewis
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • organization Securities and Exchange Commission
  • agency U.S. Attorney's Office For The Southern District Of New York
  • organization U.S. Attorney's Office For The Southern District Of New York
Triples 11
  • Joseph C. Lewis tipped material nonpublic information to Carolyn W. Carter
  • Joseph C. Lewis tipped material nonpublic information to Patrick J. O'Connor and Bryan L. Waugh
  • Carolyn W. Carter bought more than $700,000 worth of the company's common stock
  • Carolyn W. Carter profited more than $172,000
  • Patrick J. O'Connor and Bryan L. Waugh purchased the company's common stock
  • Joseph C. Lewis gifted material nonpublic information to Patrick J. O'Connor and Bryan L. Waugh
  • Joseph C. Lewis loaned $500,000 to Patrick J. O'Connor and Bryan L. Waugh
  • Carolyn W. Carter, Patrick J. O'Connor, and Bryan L. Waugh profited more than $373,000
  • Securities And Exchange Commission charged Joseph C. Lewis, Carolyn W. Carter, Patrick J. O'Connor, and Bryan L. Waugh with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
  • Securities And Exchange Commission seeks permanent injunctive relief and civil penalties from all defendants
  • U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Joseph C. Lewis
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (3,743c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25789 / July 26, 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Joseph C. Lewis, et al., No. 1:23-cv-06438 (S.D.N.Y. filed July 26, 2023) SEC Charges Investor Joseph C. Lewis and Associates with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged investor Joseph C. Lewis for illegally tipping material nonpublic information to his then-girlfriend, Carolyn W. Carter, as well as his two private pilots, Patrick J. O'Connor and Bryan L. Waugh, so that each would use this information to execute trades. The SEC also charged Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh with using that information to trade and reap combined profits of more than $545,000. According to the SEC's complaint, Lewis, a British national who resides principally in The Bahamas, controls and is majority owner of a biotechnology investment fund, from which he often received material nonpublic information concerning the fund's portfolio companies. The SEC's complaint alleges that, between approximately July and October 2019, Lewis breached a duty of confidentiality by illegally tipping material nonpublic information to Carter on at least two occasions and to O'Connor and Waugh on at least one occasion. Specifically, the SEC alleges that, in July 2019, Lewis learned that a company in which the fund had a substantial investment would be raising capital through a type of transaction that often resulted in an increase in share price. Lewis met with Carter in a luxury hotel room the same day he learned this information, and, within three hours of this meeting, Carter bought more than $700,000 worth of the company's common stock. After the transaction's announcement the next day, the company's share price increased by approximately 34.4 percent, and Carter profited more than $172,000. In September 2019, according to the SEC's complaint, Lewis learned material nonpublic information regarding another portfolio company, which had received positive results in a clinical trial that it would present at a conference the following month. Within days, the SEC alleges, Carter and then later O'Connor and Waugh purchased the company's common stock. In O'Connor and Waugh's case, Lewis allegedly gifted this information to them as a substitute for a formal retirement plan and loaned each $500,000 to execute the trades. As alleged, upon the company's public announcement of the positive clinical trial data in October 2019, its share price increased by 16.7 percent, and Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh together profited more than $373,000. The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Lewis, Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctive relief and civil penalties from all defendants, as well as disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest from Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh. The SEC's complaint also names Mr. O'Connor's spouse, Jean J. O'Connor, as a relief defendant. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Lewis. The SEC's ongoing investigation is being conducted by Tim Work, with assistance from Emily Shea, Howard Kaplan, Yongping Zheng, and Kevin Gershfeld, under the supervision of Kevin Guerrero and Stacy Bogert. The litigation will be handled by Carina Cuellar, Kristen Warden, and Mr. Work, under the supervision of James Connor. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. SEC Complaint
OCR text (3,743c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25789 / July 26, 2023 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Joseph C. Lewis, et al., No. 1:23-cv-06438 (S.D.N.Y. filed July 26, 2023) SEC Charges Investor Joseph C. Lewis and Associates with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged investor Joseph C. Lewis for illegally tipping material nonpublic information to his then-girlfriend, Carolyn W. Carter, as well as his two private pilots, Patrick J. O'Connor and Bryan L. Waugh, so that each would use this information to execute trades. The SEC also charged Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh with using that information to trade and reap combined profits of more than $545,000. According to the SEC's complaint, Lewis, a British national who resides principally in The Bahamas, controls and is majority owner of a biotechnology investment fund, from which he often received material nonpublic information concerning the fund's portfolio companies. The SEC's complaint alleges that, between approximately July and October 2019, Lewis breached a duty of confidentiality by illegally tipping material nonpublic information to Carter on at least two occasions and to O'Connor and Waugh on at least one occasion. Specifically, the SEC alleges that, in July 2019, Lewis learned that a company in which the fund had a substantial investment would be raising capital through a type of transaction that often resulted in an increase in share price. Lewis met with Carter in a luxury hotel room the same day he learned this information, and, within three hours of this meeting, Carter bought more than $700,000 worth of the company's common stock. After the transaction's announcement the next day, the company's share price increased by approximately 34.4 percent, and Carter profited more than $172,000. In September 2019, according to the SEC's complaint, Lewis learned material nonpublic information regarding another portfolio company, which had received positive results in a clinical trial that it would present at a conference the following month. Within days, the SEC alleges, Carter and then later O'Connor and Waugh purchased the company's common stock. In O'Connor and Waugh's case, Lewis allegedly gifted this information to them as a substitute for a formal retirement plan and loaned each $500,000 to execute the trades. As alleged, upon the company's public announcement of the positive clinical trial data in October 2019, its share price increased by 16.7 percent, and Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh together profited more than $373,000. The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Lewis, Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctive relief and civil penalties from all defendants, as well as disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest from Carter, O'Connor, and Waugh. The SEC's complaint also names Mr. O'Connor's spouse, Jean J. O'Connor, as a relief defendant. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Lewis. The SEC's ongoing investigation is being conducted by Tim Work, with assistance from Emily Shea, Howard Kaplan, Yongping Zheng, and Kevin Gershfeld, under the supervision of Kevin Guerrero and Stacy Bogert. The litigation will be handled by Carina Cuellar, Kristen Warden, and Mr. Work, under the supervision of James Connor. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. SEC Complaint