Ex-Apple lawyer guilty of insider trading gets a slap on the wrist, avoids prison
Wesley HilliardGene Levoff. Source: Bloomberg
Gene Levoff was in charge of policing insider trading at Apple while he performed the illegal act in the background, but got off easy with four years of probation.
In 2018, Apple's director of corporate law, who is partially responsible for policing insider trading, was accused of making trades with confidential information. Apple suspended Gene Levoff in July then fired him in September after an investigation.
After appeals and trials in the years since Bloomberg reports Gene Levoff has finally been sentenced. He was facing a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine for each of the six counts of fraud but ended up getting four years of probation.
Between 2011 and 2016, Levoff made around $227,000 in profits and avoided $377,000 in losses. He was able to make such moves thanks to his early access to earnings reports and secret sales figures.
Levoff tried to argue the charges were unconstitutional at first, then tried a hail mary attempt at getting the charges dismissed. Every attempt failed, and he ultimately pled guilty to all six charges in 2022.
Levoff was facing as much as 120 years in prison. Four years of probation outside of prison walls is a lucky break for the former lawyer, who shared how "deeply ashamed" he is for his actions.
Mike Wuerthele
Andrew Orr
Marko Zivkovic
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
11 Comments
I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere…
Well, this should send a clear and powerful message to aspiring white collar criminals everywhere: If you can't do the time, definitely DO the crime, since there's essentially no penalty for trying and getting caught! Unfriggin-believable. Someone caught stealing a Macbook at an Apple store would get a stiffer sentence.
Sigh. Thinking of the book “The Divide” by Matt Taibbi. If this one article didn’t convince you that money has redefined justice the book certainly will!
When a failed insurrection gets lawyers off with a slap on a wrist and a pinky swear that you'll testify against someone else why expect anything from some white collar insider trading?