LAWFUEL – Securities Law Newswire – The Securities and Exchange Co…

LAWFUEL – Securities Law Newswire – The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a civil injunctive action against Kevin J. Heron of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, the former general counsel, corporate secretary, and chief insider trading compliance officer of Amkor Technology, Inc. The Commission’s complaint alleges that from October 2003 through June 2004, Heron engaged in a pattern of insider trading by trading in Amkor securities prior to five Amkor public announcements relating to financial results and company business transactions. During this period, Heron executed more than fifty illegal trades in Amkor stock and options on the basis of material, nonpublic information that Heron had learned as a result of his position as general counsel. Heron executed nearly all of these illegal trades while he and other company employees were subject to company blackout periods that prohibited them from trading in Amkor stock.

Even though Heron was the person at Amkor who was responsible for administering these blackout periods, Heron routinely violated Amkor’s blackout periods by trading on inside information. Heron’s trading yielded profits, and losses avoided, totalling approximately $290,000. Heron was terminated from his positions at Amkor in September 2005.

Heron is charged with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5, which are the general antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The Commission is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement, and money penalties against Heron, as well as an order prohibiting Heron from serving as an officer or director of a public company.

The Commission acknowledges the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which conducted their own separate, parallel investigation resulting in criminal charges against Kevin Heron.

SEC Complaint in this matter

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