Former Apple Lawyer Ordered to Pay $1.15 Million SEC Fine for Insider Trading

Egregious Violations Despite Avoiding Prison Time

The former senior Apple lawyer who avoided prison time after pleading guilty to insider trading must pay a $1.15 million fine in a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil case, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge William Martini in Newark, New Jersey, said that while Gene Levoff "was not living excessively, his violations were nonetheless especially egregious" given the lawyer's former role enforcing Apple's insider trading policies.

Abusing Access to Confidential Information

Levoff had been senior director of corporate law at Apple before the iPhone maker fired him in September 2018. Prosecutors charged him five months later with making stock trades based on advance nonpublic information about Cupertino, California -based Apple's earnings announcements.

Levoff pleaded guilty to securities fraud in June 2022, and was sentenced by Martini in December to four years of probation, 2,000 hours of community service and a $604,000 forfeiture.

The proposed SEC fine was triple Levoff 's estimated $384,400 profit or avoided losses on six trades. Levoff had argued the fine was unnecessary, saying he had been punished enough and made no effort to hide his "stress-induced trading," which he labeled "self-sabotage."

Severity of Violations Emphasized

However, the judge said Levoff , a Stanford University law school graduate, knew his trading was wrong, and could handle the fine given his estimated $13 million net worth.

"Regardless of why he was trying to get caught, he acted knowingly and willfully," Martini wrote. "His violations were nonetheless especially egregious" due to his role in enforcing Apple's insider trading policies.

Kevin Marino, a lawyer for Levoff , expressed disappointment but said the judge had been "fair and even-handed" throughout the case. "Mr. Levoff is pleased to put this matter behind him and move on with his life," Marino added.

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