Insider Trading Defendant Herbert Sudfeld Found Guilty in a Related Case

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on February 5, 2016, a jury in federal court in Philadelphia returned a guilty verdict against Pennsylvania attorney Herbert Sudfeld (“Sudfeld”) in a criminal trial prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The jury convicted Sudfeld of insider trading along with three counts of making a false statement. U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia Rufe has not yet set a date for sentencing.

The SEC previously charged Sudfeld with insider trading in a civil action filed July 16, 2015. The criminal case is based on the same conduct underlying the SEC’s action. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Sudfeld illegally traded in advance of the 2011 announcement of a $760 million merger of Harleysville Group, Inc. and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, which sent the price of Harleysville stock up 87%. Sudfeld purchased 3,000 shares of Harleysville the day before the announcement. At the time, Sudfeld was a real estate partner at a law firm in Philadelphia that advised Harleysville on the merger. Sudfeld, who was not involved in the merger negotiations, learned that the announcement was imminent from a conversation between an attorney working on the transaction and their shared legal assistant. In the criminal trial, the government proved that Sudfeld took this information and used it to purchase Harleysville stock in his and his wife’s account. On the day the merger was announced, Sudfeld sold all of the shares he had purchased, realizing approximately $79,000 in illegal profits.

The SEC’s action, which remains pending, seeks an injunction against Sudfeld from further violations of the charged provisions of the federal securities laws, disgorgement of illicit earnings, and civil penalties. The SEC’s complaint also names Sudfeld’s wife, Mary Jo Sudfeld, as a relief defendant for the purpose of recovering insider trading profits in her brokerage account.

For further information about this securities law blog  post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit  www.securitieslawyer101.com.   This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute legal advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship.  Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
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Boca Raton, Florida 33432
Telephone: (561) 416-8956
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