SEC ANNOUNCES $1.5 MILLION IN DISGORGEMENT, PENALTIES FROM INVESTMENT ADVISER AND OWNER

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

SEC Obtains an Officer and Director Bar and Over $1.5 Million in Disgorgement and Penalties from Chicago Area Investment Adviser and Its Owner for Fraud

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced today that on July 14, 2014, Judge Charles P. Kocoras of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a judgment imposing $715,700 in disgorgement plus prejudgment interest of $166,476 against Oakbrook, Illinois resident Patrick G. Rooney (Rooney) and his company Solaris Management, LLC (Solaris) and a $715,700 civil penalty against Rooney. Judge Kocoras also barred Rooney from operating a private investment fund and from serving as an officer or director of any public company, expect for Positron Corporation (Positron), for which Rooney currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.

According to the SEC's complaint filed on November 16, 2011, Rooney and Solaris radically changed the investment strategy of the Solaris Opportunity Fund LP (the Fund), contrary to the Fund's offering documents and marketing materials, by becoming wholly invested in Positron, a financially troubled microcap company. The SEC alleges that Rooney, who has been Chairman of Positron since 2004 and received salary and stock options from Positron since September 2005, misused the Fund's money by investing more than $3.6 million in Positron through both private transactions and market purchases. Many of the private transactions were undocumented while other investments were interest-free loans to Positron. Rooney and Solaris hid the Positron investments and Rooney's relationship with the company from the Fund's investors for over four years. Although Rooney finally told investors about the Positron investments in a March 2009 newsletter, the SEC's complaint alleges he falsely told them he became Chairman to safeguard the Fund's investments. These investments benefited Positron and Rooney while providing the Fund with a concentrated, undiversified, and illiquid position in a cash-poor company with a lengthy track record of losses.

On December 19, 2013, Judge Kocoras entered an order of permanent injunctions enjoining Rooney and Solaris Management from violating Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rules 206(4)-8(a)(1) and (a)(2) thereunder; Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933; and Sections 10(b) and 13(d)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 13d-1 thereunder.

For additional information see Litigation Releases Number 22895 (Dec. 23, 2013) and 22167 (Nov. 22, 2011) and Press Release Number 2011-252 (Dec. 1, 2011).

4 CHARGED IN $12 MILLION INSIDER TRADING CASE

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

SEC Charges Four California Residents in $12 Million Insider Trading Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged four Northern California residents with insider trading in Ross Stores stock options based on nonpublic information about monthly sales results leaked by one of the retailer’s employees.

The SEC alleges that Saleem Khan was routinely tipped by his friend Roshanlal Chaganlal, who was a director in the finance department at Ross headquarters in Dublin, Calif. Khan used the confidential information to illegally trade on more than 40 occasions ahead of the company’s public release of financial results. Besides trading in his own brokerage account, Khan traded in his brother-in-law’s account as well as an account belonging to another acquaintance. Khan also tipped his work colleagues Ranjan Mendonsa and Ammar Akbari so they too could trade in Ross stock options based on the nonpublic information. The insider trading resulted in collective profits of more than $12 million.

The SEC further alleges that at the outset of the scheme, Chaganlal gave $17,000 to Khan for the purpose of insider trading in Ross securities using the brother-in-law’s account. They attempted to disguise the exchange by using two cashier’s checks for $8,500 purchased in the name of Chaganlal’s wife of a different surname. Khan later funneled $130,000 of the generated trading profits back to Chaganlal by using third-party intermediaries. For example, Khan wrote Akbari a check for $35,000, and Akbari in turn wrote two checks totaling $35,000 to Chaganlal’s wife. Another $75,000 was routed in a roundabout way to a title company so it could be credited at closing toward Chaganlal’s purchase of a newly-built home.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco, Khan separately made approximately $450,000 in illicit profits by insider trading in stock options of software company Taleo Corporation ahead of its 2012 acquisition by Oracle Corporation. Khan began purchasing large numbers of options in Taleo six days before the merger announcement based on nonpublic information he received from an insider he knew at Oracle. Khan had never previously traded in Taleo securities.

The SEC alleges that the serial insider trading involving Ross securities began in August 2009 and continued until December 2012, when Chaganlal was terminated by the company. He had access to confidential sales figures on an internal webpage limited to a relatively small group of Ross employees. Chaganlal regularly communicated the confidential details to Khan so he could trade ahead of impending monthly sales announcements by Ross. Khan generated $5.4 million in profits in his own account, and $6 million in profits in his brother-in-law’s account. Khan’s supervisor Mendonsa made approximately $800,000 in insider trading profits based on the nonpublic information that Khan in turn tipped to him. Akbari made approximately $2,000 by insider trading on Khan’s illegal tips.

The SEC’s complaint names two relief defendants - Khan’s acquaintance Michael Koza and Khan’s brother-in-law Shahid Khan - for the purposes of recovering insider trading profits in their brokerage accounts through trades conducted by Khan. They each have agreed to settle the matter by paying the court the entire amount of insider trading profits remaining in their accounts, which total $240,741 for Shadid Khan and $31,713 for Koza.

The SEC’s complaint charges Saleem Khan, Chaganlal, Mendonsa, and Akbari with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of illicit profits plus interest, and financial penalties. The complaint also seeks an officer-and-director bar against Chaganlal.

The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Victor Hong and Elena Ro. The case has been supervised by Steven Buchholz and Jina L. Choi of the Market Abuse Unit and San Francisco Regional Office as well as Joseph G. Sansone of the Market Abuse Unit. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Aaron Arnzen. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Options Regulatory Surveillance Authority.

INSURANCE COMPANY CEO CHARGED WITH INSIDER TRADING

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SEC Charges Denver-Based Insurance Executive With Insider Trading
On October 26, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged an insurance company CEO with insider trading based on confidential information he obtained in advance of a private investment firm acquiring a significant stake in a Denver-based oil and gas company.

The SEC alleges that Michael Van Gilder learned from a Delta Petroleum Corporation insider that Beverly Hills-based Tracinda – which has previously owned large portions of companies such as MGM Resorts International, General Motors, and Ford Motor Company – was planning to acquire a 35 percent stake in Delta Petroleum for $684 million. Van Gilder subsequently purchased Delta Petroleum stock and highly speculative options contracts. He tipped several others, encouraging them to do the same, including a pair of relatives via an e-mail with the subject line "Xmas present." After Tracinda's investment was publicly announced, Delta Petroleum's stock price shot up by almost 20 percent. Van Gilder and his tippees made more than $161,000 in illegal trading profits.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado today announced a parallel criminal action against Van Gilder.

According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Denver, Van Gilder is the CEO of Van Gilder Insurance Company. He obtained the confidential information about Tracinda's proposed investment and loaded up on Delta Petroleum stock and options in November and December 2007. He then tipped his broker, a co-worker, and relatives.

The SEC alleges that a mere two minutes after speaking to his source at Delta Petroleum on December 22, Van Gilder e-mailed two relatives with the "Xmas present" subject line and stated, "my present (just kidding) is that I can't stress enough the opportunity right now to buy Delta Petroleum." That same day, Van Gilder contacted his broker and arranged to purchase more Delta stock and options for himself. Following the public announcement, Van Gilder reaped approximately $109,000 in illegal profits and his broker, co-worker, and a relative made approximately $52,000.

The SEC's complaint charges Van Gilder with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, and seeks a final judgment ordering him to disgorge his and his tippees' ill-gotten gains and pay prejudgment interest and a financial penalty, and permanently enjoining him from future violations of these provisions of the federal securities laws.