Angela Milliard et al.
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 22357/ May 7, 2012
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Angela Milliard et al. (Civil Action No. 12-73-M-DLC ) (D. Montana)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former paralegal at a Kalispell, Mont.-based semiconductor company and her father with insider trading on confidential information about the 2009 acquisition of the company.
According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Montana, Angela Milliard first gained access to confidential deal information in October 2009, when she learned that Semitool and the acquiring company â" Applied Materials Inc. â" had entered into advanced merger negotiations. After learning that the tender offer was to happen in mid-November at a nearly 30 percent premium over Semitool's then-trading price, she wired money to her boyfriend's brokerage account and used it to surreptitiously buy shares of Semitool.
The SEC alleges that Angela Milliard tipped her father, who also purchased Semitool shares and encouraged his sons to do the same, which they did. They reaped their illegal insider trading profits following the public announcement of the merger on Nov. 17, 2009.
The complaint alleges that, by their conduct, Angela Milliard and Kenneth Milliard violated Section 10(b) and Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder. The defendants' signed consents â" which are subject to approval by the court â" provide that each defendant is permanently enjoined against future violations of the statutes and rules each is alleged to have violated. The consents further provide that Angela Milliard will pay full disgorgement of her trading profits totaling $20,355 plus prejudgment interest of $1,614.60 and a penalty of $54,022.11, while Kenneth Milliard will pay full disgorgement of his and his sons' trading profits totaling $47,805 plus prejudgment interest of $3,765.19 and a penalty of $47,805.11.
The SEC thanks the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for its assistance in this matter.
Last Reviewed or Updated: June 27, 2023