WILMINGTON, Del. - A Wilmington man has been charged with securities fraud and insider trading for a $1.4 million insider trading scheme, the United States Attorney's Office announced on Wednesday.
Casey Muggleston, 44, was charged with one count of securities fraud and four counts of insider trading. According to a federal grand jury indictment, Muggleston worked as an engineering manager for a publicly traded energy company when he learned confidentially that they were planning to restart a nuclear reactor that the company owned.
The attorney's office said that Muggleston received confidential information about the plans, and used it to buy over 500 call options in the company. Call options provide buyers with the right to purchase stocks. After the company announced publicly the restart of the nuclear reactor, Muggleston sold his call options for over $1.4 million, the attorney's office said.
The attorney's office said that Muggleston faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison for the securities fraud count and 20 years in prison for each of the four insider trading counts, but actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.
