Family duo charged for insider trading

According to the SEC’s complaint, Angela Milliard, working as a legal assistant on the deal, first gained access to the confidential information in October 2009. She discovered first that Semitool and the acquiring company had entered into advanced merger negotiations.

After learning that the tender offer was to happen in mid-November at a nearly 30% premium over Semitool’s then-trading price, she wired money to her boyfriend’s brokerage account and used it to surreptitiously buy shares of Semitool.

The SEC alleges that Milliard tipped her father, who also purchased Semitool shares and encouraged his sons to do the same. They reaped their illegal insider trading profits following the public announcement of the merger on Nov. 17, 2009.

The morning the acquisition was announced, the Milliards sold their shares for illicit profits of more than $67,000.

“Angela Milliard exploited her access to confidential merger and acquisition information to illicitly enrich herself and her family,” said Marc Fagel, director of SEC’s San Francisco regional office. “As a member of a legal department entrusted with sensitive deal documents, she had a duty to safeguard that information, not trade on it.”

Angela and Kenneth Milliard have agreed to settle the SEC’s charges by paying more than $175,000.

The Milliards settled the SEC’s charges without admitting or denying the allegations. Angela Milliard agreed to pay full disgorgement of her trading profits totaling $20,355 plus prejudgment interest of $1,614.60 and a penalty of $54,022.11. Kenneth Milliard agreed to pay full disgorgement of his and his sons’ trading profits totaling $47,805 plus prejudgment interest of $3,765.19 and a penalty of $47,805.11.

Read the SEC complaint.