Former Angels baseball player Doug DeCinces and three others were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with insider trading Thursday, Aug. 4, the same day DeCinces agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle the charges.
The SEC alleges that DeCinces and his associates made more than $1.7 million in illegal profits when Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott Laboratories Inc. announced its plan to purchase Advanced Medical Optics Inc. through a tender offer.
The three others also agreed to settlements.
The SEC alleges that DeCinces, of Laguna Beach, received confidential information about a buyout from a source at Santa Ana, Calif.-based Advanced Medical Optics. Overall, DeCinces bought 83,700 shares of Advanced Medical Optics in several brokerage accounts, including accounts in the name of his grandchildren. The SEC alleges DeCinces also illegally tipped three associates who also traded on the confidential information. When the buyout was made public on Jan. 12, 2009, Advanced Medical Optics’s stock increased 143 percent, and DeCinces sold all of his shares for $1.2 million in profits.
Additional Materials: Litigation Release No. 22062, SEC Complaint
