Former GOP Congressman Charged With Insider Trading

Sarah WeaverJuly 25, 2022

Former Republican Congressman Stephen Buyer of Indiana was charged Monday with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed insider trading charges against Stephen Buyer, a former U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 4th Congressional District,” an SEC press release read.

The SEC alleges that Buyer, who served in the U.S. Congress from 1993 to 2011, acquired a total of $568,000 of Sprint common stock after a T-mobile executive revealed to him at a golf outing in March 2018 that the company planned to acquire Sprint. Buyer was allegedly privy to the information before the acquisition was leaked to the public a month later. Buyer profited $107,000 from his use of the inside knowledge, according to the press release. (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Flees The Podium After Being Asked About Her Husband’s Stock Trades)

Buyer also purchased $1 million of Navigant Consulting, Inc. securities before the public announcement that one of Buyer’s own consulting clients was going to acquire the company, the press release reported. Buyer allegedly sold almost all of his shares once the announcement went public, profiting $227,000.

Today we charged former U.S. Congressman Stephen Buyer with insider trading related with his alleged use of nonpublic information to buy $1.5 million in stocks.

Read more: https://t.co/Re0213Zj5y

— U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (@SECGov) July 25, 2022

“When insiders like Buyer – an attorney, a former prosecutor, and a retired Congressman – monetize their access to material, nonpublic information, as alleged in this case, they not only violate the federal securities laws, but also undermine public trust and confidence in the fairness of our markets,” Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC Enforcement Division, said in the press release.

“We are committed to doing all we can to maintain and enhance public trust by leveling the playing field and holding Buyer accountable for illegally profiting from his access,” Grewal added, according to the press release.