Pro golfer, and star of weird commercials, Phil Mickelson has agreed to pay back $931,000 he made after purchasing stock on an insider trading tip from a sports gambler.
Via CNN Money:
Two other individuals allegedly involved in the insider trading case with Mickelson are Las Vegas investor and gambler Billy Walters and Thomas Davis, the former chairman of Dean Foods. Walters and Davis were named in federal criminal indictments unsealed Thursday.
Mickelson was named as a “relief defendant” in the case, meaning he benefited from wrongdoing but is not accused of any illegal act.
“The complaint does not assert that Phil Mickelson violated the securities laws in any way. On that point, Phil feels vindicated,” said the statement released by his attorney, former White House counsel Gregory Craig. “At the same time, however, Phil has no desire to benefit from any transaction that the SEC sees as questionable.”
The SEC claims that Mickelson spoke with Walters, who he had a history of placing bets, in 2012 about an upcoming spinoff of dairy company Dean Foods, according to ESPN.
Walters told Mickelson to buy the stock, based on a tip he received. A few months after buying 240,000 shares, Mickelson then repaid Walters using the Dean Foods money, according to the SEC.
Mickelson has also been tied to a federal money laundering case, according to ESPN, in which a California man is accused of transferring almost $3 million in an illegal gambling operation – which is all allegedly Mickelson’s money.
The local PGA Golf Tournament named Phil Mickelson as its ambassador on Wednesday. Clearly, things are off to a grand start.
