(File 1988) House Judiciary Committee member Stephen Baier (R/IN) carries his research papers at the conclusion of impeachment proceedings on December 12.
Reuters
WASHINGTON — Former Indiana Republican Stephen Baier has been charged with insider trading, using accounts owned by his wife and longtime mistress to hide some of the transactions, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday.
Baier, who left Congress in 2011, has been accused of trading on nonpublic information he received as a consultant after leaving office.
According to the civil complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Buyer bought more than $1.5 million in stock in two separate companies, Sprint and Navigant Consulting, based on insider information over a two-year period.
He sold Sprint stock in 2018 after its merger with T-Mobile expired, for a profit of at least $107,000, according to the SEC. He sold Navigant stock in 2019 after news broke that Navigant would be acquired by Guidehouse LLP.
Buyer used several different accounts, including the brokerage account of his wife, Johnny Buyer, to purchase the stock. Joni Buyer has not been charged with any wrongdoing, but she is named in the charges because she technically benefited from the ill-gotten gains in her investment account.
The buyer allegedly spread the stock purchases across 7 different accounts, including two separate IRAs belonging only to him, an investment account belonging to his wife, Joni Buyer; joint account owned by the couple; joint account shared by the buyer with his son; a joint account shared by the Buyer with his cousin and a 7th account held by a woman identified only as “Friend-1”.
According to the SEC complaint, Buyer began a romantic relationship with the unidentified woman in 2006. In 2018, Buyer used the woman’s IRA account to purchase over $12,000 worth of Sprint stock. A year later, he allegedly used her account again to buy $22,000 worth of stock in Navigant, shortly before both companies were acquired by Buyer’s advisory clients.
“When insiders like Buyer — an attorney, former prosecutor and retired congressman — monetize their access to material, nonpublic information, as alleged in this case, they not only violate federal securities laws, but also undermine public trust and confidence in justice in our markets,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in the SEC’s press release.
An attorney for the Buyer could not immediately be identified for comment.
Bayer served in Congress from 1993-2011, where he represented Indiana’s 4th Congressional District, which was previously numbered as the 5th.
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