CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A criminal indictment in U.S. District Court charges Eric M. Hill, 44, of Charlotte, with insider trading, announced Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The indictment was returned by a grand jury last week and was unsealed this morning, following Hill’s initial court appearance.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.
The indictment alleges that between October 13, 2015, and October 26, 2015, Hill committed insider trading based on nonpublic information pertaining to a proposed acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. (Piedmont) by Duke Energy Corporation (Duke Energy). Stealing material, nonpublic inside information allows a trader to cheat and earn substantial profits by trading before such news becomes public, earning profits by trading again once the news becomes public and impacts the price of a stock.
According to allegations in the indictment, Hill misappropriated the nonpublic information from an employee of a consulting firm that provided services to Piedmont. The indictment alleges that Hill used the confidential information to conduct a series of securities transactions prior to and after the announcement of the acquisition of Piedmont by Duke Energy. The indictment further alleges that Hill took in over $380,000 as a result of his illegal insider trading activities.
Hill is charged with fraud in connection with the purchase and sale of securities, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $5 million fine. He is also charged with seven counts of securities fraud, which carry a maximum prison term of 25 years, and a fine of $250,000, per count.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Murray commended the FBI for their investigation of this case. In a related matter, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a separate civil action against Hill filed with the U.S. District Court in the Western District of North Carolina.
The prosecution for the government is handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Daniel Ryan and Graham Billings, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
