Phil Mickelson Charged with Insider Trading

Phil Mickelson hasn’t had a good run on the golf course lately – only two Top 10 finishes in the last 10 Majors, and only one Majors win dating back to 2011 – and his personal life took a hit today as he was charged with Insider Trading.

This isn’t a new story, as it dates back to 2014, but Mickelson was formally charged today. From Marketwatch:

Mickelson was charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission due to an alleged tip he received from gambler William “Billy” Walters, who got information from former Dean Foods chairman DF, +0.62% Thomas Davis.

The SEC said that Walters called, and then sent text messages, to Mickelson, who then bought a $2.4 million position in three accounts he controlled. Those securities “dwarfed” Mickelson’s other holdings, which were collectively valued at less than $250,000, the SEC said. Mickelson had not been a frequent trader and these were his first ever Dean Foods purchases, the SEC said. Mickelson made a profit of approximately $931,000 from the stock he held for about a week.

If you’ve seen the fantastic Billions on Showtime, you know this sort of thing happens all the time, but the goal is to nab a whale or two in hopes of proving to the public that you’re doing your job. Mickelson, with a reported net worth of over $150 million, certainly qualifies as a whale.

But it’s not always a slam dunk victory to chase wealthy men – see Mark Cuban in 2013.

Golfer Phil Mickelson profited from Dean Foods insider trades, SEC says

Mickelson named as ‘relief defendant’ by agency

Golfer Phil Mickelson on Thursday was accused of insider trading in connection with a case where two others are facing criminal charges.

Mickelson said by the Securities and Exchange Commission to have used an alleged tip he received from gambler William “Billy” Walters, who got information from a former Dean Foods DF, +0.73%  chairman, Thomas Davis.

The SEC said that Walters called and then sent text messages to Mickelson, who ultimately bought a $2.4 million position in three accounts he controlled. Those securities “dwarfed” Mickelson’s other holdings, which were collectively valued at less than $250,000, the SEC said. Mickelson had not been a frequent trader, and these were his first Dean Foods purchases, the SEC said. Mickelson made a profit of approximately $931,000 from the stock, which he held for about a week.

The SEC referred to Mickelson as a so-called relief defendant. A relief defendant is someone who has received property obtained illegally but is not directly accused of wrongdoing.

The reason Mickelson, who the PGA Tour website indicated has career earnings of $79.5 million, made these trades? According to the SEC, Mickelson owed Walters money at the time Walters urged him to trade. That’s also the case with Davis — the SEC said he owed Walters money.

The Justice Department has alleged that Davis provided material nonpublic information to Walters, who is also charged in a separate indictment, about Dean Foods earnings results, its outlook and the spinoff of Whitewave-Alpro, a Dean subsidiary.