03-07-2024
Tyler Loudon's wife worked as one of BP's mergers and acquisitions managers from her home during and after the pandemic. BP asked Loudon's wife to work on its potential acquisition of TravelCenters of America (a truck stop and travel center operator). The company advised her the information was confidential. At the time, Loudon and his wife both worked at home within about 20 feet of each other, where they could hear each other's conversations. They traveled abroad, where Loudon's wife continued to work on the acquisition. She did share some aspects of the deal with her husband "during the normal course of marital communications."
Loudon used the deal information from his wife to buy tens of thousands of shares of stock in TravelCenters of America, as much as 46,450 shares. In February 2023, when BP publicly announced the deal, Loudon sold his shares and made $1.76 million.
In March 2023, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority asked BP for the names of people with prior knowledge of the acquisition. Loudon's wife did not know that her husband used her work information to buy shares of the stock. After learning about the investigation, Loudon confessed to his wife. She told her supervisor, who placed her on administrative leave and fired her, even though BP could not find evidence she knew about it. The wife moved out and stopped speaking to her husband. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Loudon in a federal district court. They allege he took advantage of "his remote working conditions and his wife's trust to profit from information he knew was confidential." Beyond forfeiting the money, Loudon could face fines of up to $250,000.