Dow Chemical Executive Settles SEC insider case

A former Dow Chemical executive charged with insider trading by the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the 2008 takeover of Rohm and Haas has agreed to pay a $367,250 fine and be banned from serving as an officer or director of a public company. According to the news agency Reuters, Raymond James Financial of St. Petersburg, Florida, and one of its former brokers, Charles Adams, also agreed to settle related charges.

Mack Murrell, formerly Dow's vice president of information systems, had been accused of tipping off a friend, David Teekell, about the planned $15.7 billion transaction before it was announced on July 10, 2008. The executive is said to have learned about the planned deal from his girlfriend, an assistant to Dow's chief financial officer.

The SEC said Teekell and, his Adams then traded on the tips from Murrell and that some profits went to Adams' customers. More than $1 million of illegal profit was realized, the stock market watchdog said. The brokerage agreed to pay about $382,000 representing "ill-gotten gains and interest," and Adams agreed to pay nearly $185,000, including a $107,046 fine. Teekell previously had agreed to pay about $1.17 million, including a $534,526 fine, to settle with the SEC.
None of the defendants admitted wrongdoing.