SEC Charges Former Public Company Officer and His Sister-In-Law with Insider Trading
The SEC charged Alfred V
The SEC charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., a former corporate officer, and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lee, with insider trading involving material nonpublic information regarding Spok Holdings Inc. and PFSWeb, Inc. Tobia allegedly breached his fiduciary duties by tipping Lee about upcoming acquisitions, resulting in over $428,000 in combined illegal profits. To settle the charges, the defendants agreed to pay more than $1.36 million in penalties and are subject to permanent injunctive relief, with Tobia receiving a five-year bar from serving as a public company officer or director.
The SEC charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., a former corporate officer, and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lee, with insider trading involving material nonpublic information regarding Spok Holdings Inc. and PFSWeb, Inc. Tobia allegedly breached his fiduciary duties by tipping Lee about upcoming acquisitions, resulting in over $428,000 in combined illegal profits. To settle the charges, the defendants agreed to pay more than $1.36 million in penalties and are subject to permanent injunctive relief, with Tobia receiving a five-year bar from serving as a public company officer or director. The SEC charged former corporate executive Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lee, with insider trading that generated over $428,000 in illegal profits through trades in Spok Holdings and PFSWeb based on material nonpublic information. Tobia allegedly breached his fiduciary duties by tipping Lee about a pending acquisition and a business unit sale, allowing her to trade ahead of public announcements that significantly boosted the respective stock prices. To resolve the charges filed in the Southern District of New York, the defendants agreed to pay a combined settlement of more than $1.36 million, including disgorgement of profits and civil penalties. As part of the resolution, Tobia accepted a five-year bar from serving as an officer or director of any public company, while both parties agreed to permanent injunctive relief without admitting or denying the allegations. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., former president and CIO of a public company, and his sister-in-law Elizabeth Lee with insider trading that generated over $428,000 in illegal profits. Tobia allegedly tipped Lee about nonpublic acquisition plans involving Spok Holdings Inc. and PFSWeb, Inc., enabling her to make trades that yielded $262,000 and $166,000 in profits, respectively. Tobia and Lee agreed to pay a total of $1.36 million to settle the charges, with Tobia also facing a five-year ban from serving as an officer or director of a public company. The settlements, which include permanent injunctive relief, were reached without admitting or denying the allegations, and are subject to court approval. The SEC investigation was conducted by the New York Regional Office and supported by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
- $1.36M $1.36 million $1M–$10M
- $785K $785,020 $100K–$1M
- $577K $576,955 $100K–$1M
- $428K $428,000 $100K–$1M
- $262K $262,000 $100K–$1M
- $166K $166,000 $100K–$1M
- scheme_term alfred v. tobia, jr. and elizabeth lee with insider trading
- company as president and cio of the public company
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- person spok stock
- person tejal d. shah
- agency the financial industry regulatory authority for its assistance
- agency the sec’s charges
- Securities and Exchange Commission charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr. and Elizabeth Lee with insider trading
- defendants agreed to pay more than $1.36 million to settle the charges
- Tobia breached his fiduciary duty as president and CIO of the public company
- Tobia tipped Lee about his company’s plan to make an offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Spok Holdings Inc.
- Lee placed trades to purchase Spok stock
- Spok’s stock price increased by approximately 26 percent
- Lee allegedly sold all of the Spok shares she had purchased, generating illicit profits of more than $262,000
- Tobia learned material nonpublic information about PFSWeb, Inc.’s sale of one of its business units known as LiveArea
- Tobia tipped the information to Lee
- Lee purchased 60,000 shares of PFSWeb
- Lee sold those shares once the LiveArea transaction was announced
- Lee made more than $166,000 in profit
- Tejal D. Shah said As we allege, Tobia repeatedly abused his position as a corporate officer by sharing material nonpublic information with his sister-in-law to enable her to place profitable trades
- Tobia and Lee agreed to settle the SEC’s charges
- Tobia agreed to permanent injunctive relief and to be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years
- Tobia agreed to pay a civil penalty of $785,020
- Lee agreed to pay a civil penalty of $576,955
- The settlements are subject to court approval
- Mariel Bronen, Kiran Patel, Oren Gleich, Elizabeth Baier, George O’Kane, and George N. Stepaniuk conducted the investigation of this matter
- The SEC wishes to thank the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for its assistance
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., the former president and chief investment officer (CIO) of one public company and a member of the board of another, and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lee, with insider trading that resulted in more than $428,000 in illegal profits. The defendants have agreed to pay more than $1.36 million to settle the charges. According to the SEC’s complaint, Tobia allegedly breached his fiduciary duty as president and CIO of the public company by tipping Lee in the Summer of 2021 about his company’s plan to make an offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Spok Holdings Inc., after which Lee promptly placed trades to purchase Spok stock. When Tobia’s company later issued a press release announcing the offer, Spok’s stock price increased by approximately 26 percent. Within two days, Lee allegedly sold all of the Spok shares she had purchased, generating illicit profits of more than $262,000. In addition, while serving as a member of the board of the other public company, Tobia allegedly learned material nonpublic information about PFSWeb, Inc.’s sale of one of its business units known as LiveArea. Tobia allegedly tipped the information to Lee, who purchased 60,000 shares of PFSWeb and sold those shares once the LiveArea transaction was announced. As a result, Lee made more than $166,000 in profit. “As we allege, Tobia repeatedly abused his position as a corporate officer by sharing material nonpublic information with his sister-in-law to enable her to place profitable trades,” said Tejal D. Shah, Associate Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “The SEC is committed to holding accountable corporate insiders who abuse material nonpublic information for private gain – whether by trading themselves or by tipping others.” Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Tobia and Lee have both agreed to settle the SEC’s charges. In addition to agreeing to permanent injunctive relief, Tobia has agreed to be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years and to pay a civil penalty of $785,020. In addition, Lee has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $576,955. The settlements are subject to court approval. The investigation of this matter was conducted by Mariel Bronen, Kiran Patel, Oren Gleich, Elizabeth Baier, George O’Kane, and George N. Stepaniuk of the SEC’s New York Regional Office and was supervised by Ms. Shah. The SEC wishes to thank the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for its assistance.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Alfred V. Tobia, Jr., the former president and chief investment officer (CIO) of one public company and a member of the board of another, and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lee, with insider trading that resulted in more than $428,000 in illegal profits. The defendants have agreed to pay more than $1.36 million to settle the charges. According to the SEC’s complaint, Tobia allegedly breached his fiduciary duty as president and CIO of the public company by tipping Lee in the Summer of 2021 about his company’s plan to make an offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Spok Holdings Inc., after which Lee promptly placed trades to purchase Spok stock. When Tobia’s company later issued a press release announcing the offer, Spok’s stock price increased by approximately 26 percent. Within two days, Lee allegedly sold all of the Spok shares she had purchased, generating illicit profits of more than $262,000. In addition, while serving as a member of the board of the other public company, Tobia allegedly learned material nonpublic information about PFSWeb, Inc.’s sale of one of its business units known as LiveArea. Tobia allegedly tipped the information to Lee, who purchased 60,000 shares of PFSWeb and sold those shares once the LiveArea transaction was announced. As a result, Lee made more than $166,000 in profit. “As we allege, Tobia repeatedly abused his position as a corporate officer by sharing material nonpublic information with his sister-in-law to enable her to place profitable trades,” said Tejal D. Shah, Associate Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “The SEC is committed to holding accountable corporate insiders who abuse material nonpublic information for private gain – whether by trading themselves or by tipping others.” Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Tobia and Lee have both agreed to settle the SEC’s charges. In addition to agreeing to permanent injunctive relief, Tobia has agreed to be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years and to pay a civil penalty of $785,020. In addition, Lee has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $576,955. The settlements are subject to court approval. The investigation of this matter was conducted by Mariel Bronen, Kiran Patel, Oren Gleich, Elizabeth Baier, George O’Kane, and George N. Stepaniuk of the SEC’s New York Regional Office and was supervised by Ms. Shah. The SEC wishes to thank the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for its assistance.