Ex-Apple Lawyer Fined $1.15M for Insider Trading

A federal judge determined Tuesday that the former top Apple lawyer who pleaded guilty to insider trading and spared prison must pay a $1.15 million fine in a related SEC civil case

In Newark, New Jersey, U.S. District Judge William Martini stated that Gene Levoff’s violations were particularly egregious even though he was not living excessively. This was due to the lawyer’s previous role in enforcing Apple’s insider trading policies.

Before his termination by Apple in September 2018, Levoff served as the senior director of corporate law.

Five months later, prosecutors charged him with engaging in stock transactions based on advance nonpublic information regarding Apple’s earnings announcements, headquartered in Cupertino, California.

In June 2022, Levoff entered a guilty plea to securities fraud. Martini sentenced him to four years of probation, 2,000 hours of community service, and a $604,000 forfeiture in December.

The proposed SEC fine tripled Levoff’s estimated profit of $384,400 or avoided losses on six transactions.

Levoff deemed the fine unnecessary in court documents, asserting that he had already been punished and had not made any effort to conceal his stress-induced trading, which he called “self-sabotage.”

However, the judge asserted that Levoff, a Stanford University law school graduate, was aware of the impropriety of his trading and could afford the punishment, given his estimated $13 million net worth.

“Regardless of why he was trying to get caught, he acted knowingly and willfully,” Martini asserted.

In an email, Kevin Marino, a lawyer for Levoff, stated, “We are naturally disappointed, but Judge Martini has been fair and impartial throughout this case, and we respect his decision.” Mr. Levoff is delighted to have resolved this issue and to continue living his life.

SEC v Levoff, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 19-05536, is the case in question.