U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23784 / March 23, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Christopher Ludwig, No. 1:17-cv-00331-LO-TCB (E.D. Va. filed Mar. 23, 2017)
SEC Charges Virginia Man with Insider Trading
On March 23, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged an Alexandria, Virginia man with insider trading in the securities of Verso Corporation in advance of a January 6, 2014 announcement that Verso would acquire NewPage Holdings Inc.
The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, alleges that Christopher Ludwig purchased the securities of Verso Corporation on the basis of material nonpublic information he learned from his longtime friend who was performing work as a consultant to Verso. The complaint alleges that, despite agreeing not to act on the information that he learned from his friend, Ludwig traded on the information and realized illegal profits of more than $30,000.
Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, Ludwig has consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. Ludwig also agreed to pay a total of $49,320.03, consisting of disgorgement of $30,616.69, and prejudgment interest of $2,263.33, and a civil penalty of $16,440.01. The proposed settlement is subject to the court's approval.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by Brianna Ripa and Andrew Elliott and was supervised by Scott Friestad and Amy Friedman. The SEC thanks the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for its assistance in this matter.
