A petroleum engineer agreed to pay over $435,000 to settle SEC charges of insider trading.
The SEC alleged that Christopher James Lollar, a former petroleum engineer at the Texas-based energy company Apache Corporation ("Apache"), took advantage of material nonpublic information in order to make profitable securities trades. While employed by Apache, Mr. Lollar allegedly learned that the company intended to announce the discovery of a significant oil resource play.
As a result of the misconduct, the SEC charged Mr. Lollar with violating Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5. The trades executed in reliance on material nonpublic information allegedly netted Mr. Lollar $214,295.07 in illicit profits. To settle the charges, he agreed to pay $214,295.07 in disgorgement, $7,219.36 in interest, and a $214,295.07 penalty, for a total of $435,809.50.
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