- Tyler Loudon made $1.76 million in illegal profits after listening to his wife’s phone calls at BP and has been charged with insider trading
- When Loudon’s wife, Emily Kraus, discovered his betrayal, she informed her bosses at BP, who felt she had not acted inappropriately but fired her anyway.
- Loudon, whose wife later filed for divorce, accepted the charges and has agreed to give up the money he earned and pay a fine
A Texas man who made $1.76 million in illegal profits after tapping his wife’s phone calls at BP has been charged with insider trading.
Tyler Loudon overheard his wife, Emily Kraus, a mergers and acquisitions manager at BP, having internal discussions about the oil conglomerate’s planned acquisition of TravelCenters of America while she was working from home.
Loudon proceeded to purchase 46,450 shares of TravelCenters, without his wife’s knowledge, before the deal was made public in February last year.
When BP announced it would buy TravelCenters of America at a 74 percent premium, Loudon immediately sold all of his shares, making a $1.76 million profit, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday.
When Kraus discovered his betrayal, she informed her bosses at BP, who felt she had not acted inappropriately but fired her anyway. She later filed for divorce.
Tyler Loudon (right) made $1.76 million in illegal profits after listening in on the phone calls of his BP executive wife (left)
Emily Kraus, mergers and acquisitions manager at BP, was fired
Loudon (left) has accepted insider trading charges and agreed to pay a fine
“We allege that Mr. Loudon took advantage of his remote working conditions and his wife’s trust to profit from information he knew was confidential,” the SEC said in a criminal complaint.
Loudon said he bought the stock and even liquidated his retirement accounts because “he wanted to make enough money so she wouldn’t have to work long hours anymore,” according to the filing.
Kraus claimed to be “stunned” by her husband’s revelation and immediately reported the trade to her supervisor at BP.
Her email and text messages were reviewed by BP and no evidence was found that she knowingly leaked the information about the deal to her husband or knew he had purchased the shares.
However, BP decided to fire her anyway.
Emily Kraus worked for BP in Houston, Texas before she was fired after her husband committed insider trading
The couple lived together in the suburbs of Houston, Texas before splitting in 2023
The former BP executive moved out of the couple’s home and filed for divorce in June.
Loudon did not deny the allegations and agreed to forfeit the money he made from insider trading and pay a fine.
However, he still faces possible criminal charges and if convicted could face jail time.
Since the work-from-home era began at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the SEC has brought multiple insider trading cases after partners or spouses learned confidential information while working from their home offices.
According to the SEC, Loudon’s wiretapping extended abroad. While traveling through Rome, the SEC said Loudon sat near his wife as she worked on the TravelCenters deal from a small rented apartment.
BP did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.