Gene Levoff, Apple’s former director of corporate law, has been ordered to pay a $1.15 million fine to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for insider trading, according to Reuters. This ruling comes after Levoff’s conviction last year, which resulted in a four-year probation sentence and a fine, avoiding a potential two-year jail term.
Levoff’s role at Apple included enforcing the company’s insider trading policies, making his violation particularly egregious. With access to Apple’s earnings results before public release, Levoff used this information to trade Apple shares, earning approximately $277,000 in profits and avoiding $377,000 in losses.
The judge deemed Levoff’s actions “especially egregious” due to his responsibility to prevent insider trading at Apple. Despite this, the judge spared Levoff from jail time, considering his termination from Apple and the loss of his legal practice.
Levoff’s insider trading occurred between 2011 and 2016, during his tenure at Apple from 2011 to 2018. He was fired in September 2018 after authorities contacted Apple about his activities. In June 2022, Levoff pleaded guilty to six counts of securities fraud for insider trading.
