SEC v. Roy M. Cook; Jeffrey A. Natrop; Peter S. Renner; James Rudolph; and Peter Williams, No. LR-25948, District of New Jersey (Mar. 12, 2024) — Press Release
raw: Roy M. Cook; Jeffrey A. Natrop; Peter S. Renner; James Rudolph and Peter Williams
Roy M. Cook; Jeffrey A. Natrop; Peter S. Renner; James Rudolph and Peter Williams, No. LR-25948 (Mar. 12, 2024)
Former Tallgrass Energy director Roy Cook and four associates settled SEC insider trading charges involving a 2019 corporate acquisition by agreeing to injunctions and significant financial penalties.
The SEC charged Roy Cook and four associates with trading on material nonpublic information regarding a Tallgrass Energy acquisition and failing to file required disclosure reports. Cook agreed to disgorge $88,800 in profits, pay $801,742 in civil penalties, and accept an officer-and-director bar. The other defendants, including Jeffrey Natrop, Peter Renner, James Rudolph, and Peter Williams, agreed to disgorge their respective illicit profits and pay civil penalties equal to those amounts.
The SEC has charged former Tallgrass Energy LP board member Roy Cook and four associates—Jeffrey Natrop, Peter Renner, James Rudolph, and Peter Williams—with insider trading. The complaint alleges that Cook tipped his friends and personal accountant about a potential corporate acquisition in 2019, leading them to purchase stock and call options ahead of public announcements. Additionally, Cook is charged with failing to file required disclosure reports for securities transactions by family trusts. Without admitting or denying the allegations, the defendants consented to permanent injunctions against violating antifraud provisions. Cook agreed to disgorge $88,800 in profits, pay $801,742 in civil penalties, and accept an officer-and-director bar. The other defendants agreed to disgorge their individual profits, which ranged from $13,520 to $524,525, and pay civil penalties equal to their disgorgements.
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
- $802K $801,742 $100K–$1M
- $525K $524,525 $100K–$1M
- $89K $88,800 $10K–$100K
- $44K $43,862 $10K–$100K
- $31K $31,035 $10K–$100K
- $15K $15,479 $10K–$100K
- $14K $13,520 $10K–$100K
- person james rudolph
- person peter s. renner
- person peter williams
- person roy cook
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- Securities And Exchange Commission charged Roy Cook, Jeffrey a. Natrop, Peter S. Renner, James Rudolph, and Peter Williams with insider trading
- Securities And Exchange Commission charged Roy Cook for failing to file required disclosure reports concerning securities transactions by family trusts
- Roy Cook tipped Jeffrey a. Natrop and Peter S. Renner with material nonpublic information about a potential acquisition of Tallgrass Energy LP
- Jeffrey a. Natrop purchased Tallgrass call options on August 8 and 9, 2019
- Peter S. Renner purchased Tallgrass call options on August 8 and 9, 2019
- Roy Cook tipped James Rudolph with material nonpublic information about a potential acquisition of Tallgrass Energy LP
- James Rudolph purchased Tallgrass stock on August 6, 2019
- Roy Cook tipped Peter Williams with material nonpublic information about a potential acquisition of Tallgrass Energy LP
- Peter Williams purchased Tallgrass call options on August 19 and 21, 2019
- Roy Cook communicated material nonpublic information about the status of negotiations to Peter Williams
- Peter Williams purchased Tallgrass stock in a Cook family trust account over which he had trading authority
- Roy Cook tipped Peter Williams with more material nonpublic information about the status of negotiations on December 10, 2019
- Peter Williams purchased more Tallgrass call options in his personal account on December 10, 2019
- Roy Cook agreed to disgorge $88,800 in illicit trading profits with $15,479 in prejudgment interest and pay a $801,742 civil penalty
- Roy Cook agreed to an officer-and-director bar
- Jeffrey a. Natrop agreed to disgorge $43,862 in illicit trading profits with prejudgment interest and pay a civil penalty equal to his disgorgement
- Peter S. Renner agreed to disgorge $13,520 in illicit trading profits with prejudgment interest and pay a civil penalty equal to his disgorgement
- James Rudolph agreed to disgorge $31,035 in illicit trading profits with prejudgment interest and pay a civil penalty equal to his disgorgement
- Peter Williams agreed to disgorge $524,525 in illicit trading profits with prejudgment interest and pay a civil penalty equal to his disgorgement
- Securities And Exchange Commission conducted investigation with David Frisof, Brian Vann, Dean Conway, James Carlson, and Brian Shute
- Securities And Exchange Commission received assistance from Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION| Litigation Release No. 25948 / March 12, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Roy M. Cook, Jeffrey A. Natrop, Peter S. Renner, James Rudolph and Peter Williams, No. YY-civ-#### (E.D. Wis. filed Mar. 1, 2024) SEC Charges Former Energy Company Official and Four Others with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Roy Cook, a former member of the Board of Directors of Tallgrass Energy LP(“Tallgrass”), and four of his friends for trading on material nonpublic information in advance of a corporate acquisition involving the Kansas-based energy company. The SEC also charged Cook for failing to file required disclosure reports concerning securities transactions by family trusts. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, alleges that Cook, a resident of Hartland, Wisconsin, learned material nonpublic information about a potential acquisition offer for Tallgrass and tipped his friends, Jeffrey Natrop, Peter Renner, James Rudolph and Peter Williams, the information in advance of August and December 2019 public announcements concerning the offer. The complaint alleges that based on inside information from Cook, Natrop and Renner, co-owners of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, architecture firm and friends and business associates of Cook’s, purchased Tallgrass call options on August 8 and 9, 2019. The complaint further alleges that Cook tipped Rudolph and Rudolph purchased Tallgrass stock on August 6, 2019. The complaint also alleges that Cook tipped Williams, his long-time friend and personal accountant, and that Williams purchased call options on August 19 and 21, 2019. Following the August announcement, which saw Tallgrass shares increase by 36 percent, Cook served for several months as chair of a Tallgrass Conflicts Committee tasked with assessing the acquisition offer and negotiating the final terms of the transaction. In connection with this role, Cook allegedly learned material nonpublic information about the status of the negotiations that he communicated to Williams, who purchased Tallgrass stock in a Cook family trust account over which he had trading authority. The complaint further alleges that on December 10, 2019, Cook tipped Williams more material nonpublic information about the status of the negotiations, and Williams purchased more call options in his personal account. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, each Defendant consented to a permanent injunction prohibiting them from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, with Cook also agreeing to an injunction under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act. Cook has agreed to disgorge his illicit trading profits of $88,800, with prejudgment interest of $15,479, and pay a civil penalty of $801,742. Cook has also agreed to an officer-and-director bar. Each of the other Defendants has agreed to disgorge their illicit trading profits – $43,862 for Natrop, $13,520 for Renner, $31,035 for Rudolph, and $524,525 for Williams – along with prejudgment interest, and pay a civil penalty equal to their disgorgement. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by David Frisof and Brian Vann, with assistance from Dean Conway, James Carlson and Brian Shute. The case was supervised by Brian Quinn. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. SEC Complaint
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION| Litigation Release No. 25948 / March 12, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Roy M. Cook, Jeffrey A. Natrop, Peter S. Renner, James Rudolph and Peter Williams, No. YY-civ-#### (E.D. Wis. filed Mar. 1, 2024) SEC Charges Former Energy Company Official and Four Others with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Roy Cook, a former member of the Board of Directors of Tallgrass Energy LP(“Tallgrass”), and four of his friends for trading on material nonpublic information in advance of a corporate acquisition involving the Kansas-based energy company. The SEC also charged Cook for failing to file required disclosure reports concerning securities transactions by family trusts. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, alleges that Cook, a resident of Hartland, Wisconsin, learned material nonpublic information about a potential acquisition offer for Tallgrass and tipped his friends, Jeffrey Natrop, Peter Renner, James Rudolph and Peter Williams, the information in advance of August and December 2019 public announcements concerning the offer. The complaint alleges that based on inside information from Cook, Natrop and Renner, co-owners of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, architecture firm and friends and business associates of Cook’s, purchased Tallgrass call options on August 8 and 9, 2019. The complaint further alleges that Cook tipped Rudolph and Rudolph purchased Tallgrass stock on August 6, 2019. The complaint also alleges that Cook tipped Williams, his long-time friend and personal accountant, and that Williams purchased call options on August 19 and 21, 2019. Following the August announcement, which saw Tallgrass shares increase by 36 percent, Cook served for several months as chair of a Tallgrass Conflicts Committee tasked with assessing the acquisition offer and negotiating the final terms of the transaction. In connection with this role, Cook allegedly learned material nonpublic information about the status of the negotiations that he communicated to Williams, who purchased Tallgrass stock in a Cook family trust account over which he had trading authority. The complaint further alleges that on December 10, 2019, Cook tipped Williams more material nonpublic information about the status of the negotiations, and Williams purchased more call options in his personal account. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, each Defendant consented to a permanent injunction prohibiting them from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, with Cook also agreeing to an injunction under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act. Cook has agreed to disgorge his illicit trading profits of $88,800, with prejudgment interest of $15,479, and pay a civil penalty of $801,742. Cook has also agreed to an officer-and-director bar. Each of the other Defendants has agreed to disgorge their illicit trading profits – $43,862 for Natrop, $13,520 for Renner, $31,035 for Rudolph, and $524,525 for Williams – along with prejudgment interest, and pay a civil penalty equal to their disgorgement. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by David Frisof and Brian Vann, with assistance from Dean Conway, James Carlson and Brian Shute. The case was supervised by Brian Quinn. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. SEC Complaint