Gene Levoff, former senior director of corporate law and corporate secretary at Apple, has been released on a $500,000 bond after pleading not guilty to charges of insider trading.
Levoff, who formerly prevented Apple employees from insider trading, is accused of using nonpublic information to buy and sell tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Apple stock. He was fired by Apple last September, two months after being placed on leave.
Levoff has “a history” of insider trading, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He allegedly traded on nonpublic Apple information three times in 2011 and 2012, then again in 2015 and 2016. It is believed those trades helped him profit and avoid losses of approximately $382,000.
Levoff was charged by the SEC last week, but he has now been released on a $500,000 bond.
Levoff free for now
In a federal court in Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday, Levoff pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.
“In setting the bond, U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion noted that Levoff had traveled extensively and held ‘extensive assets’,” Bloomberg reports.
Kevin Marino, Levoff’s attorney, said after the brief hearing that “we very much look forward to defending Mr. Levoff in this case.”
Levoff knew the rules
Before being fired by Apple, Levoff was one of the company’s most senior executives. He reported directly to Apple’s general counsel, and will have been earning a sizeable salary. It seems odd, then, that he may have risked all of that to earn a measly sum (in comparison) from insider trading.
That’s especially true when you consider that Levoff knew the rules better than anyone. During his decade-long career at Apple, he helped update the policies that prevent all employees from insider trading.
