Former Apple Lawyer Gene Levoff Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading

Former Apple vice president of corporate law Gene Levoff has pleaded guilty to six counts of securities fraud for insider trading across a five-year span.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released a press release, as reported by The Verge. In it, it confirms that Levoff “misappropriated material, nonpublic information about Apple’s financial results and then executed trades involving the company’s stock.” This was found to be the case between February 2011 to April 2016.

In addition, Levoff’s tenure saw him on Apple’s Disclosure Committee from September 2008 to July 2018. Throughout the decade span, Levoff was in charge of monitoring and ensuring Apple’s staff was up to date and compliant with Apple’s insider trading policies. This included the enforcement of “blackout periods” during Apple’s earnings reports.

However, according to the DOJ, Levoff was able to allegedly secure profits of “approximately $227,000 on certain trades.” Levoff is also said to have avoided losses of “approximately $377,000 on others.”

In September 2018, Apple terminated Levoff’s status as an employee. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has previously filed a complaint regarding Levoff and the same allegations.

Levoff’s sentencing is scheduled for November 10th. In the U.S., six securities fraud counts can each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Additionally, Levoff also faces a $5 million fine.