2 in La. accused of insider trading
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LAFAYETTE — The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint against two Acadiana men alleging they engaged in insider trading prior to a pending merger between two oil and gas companies in 2006.
The civil suit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana and names as defendants Robert L. Hollier, 66, of Opelousas, and Wayne A. Dupuis, 66, of Youngsville.
The suit alleges that Hollier, as a board member for Warrior Energy, had knowledge of pending merger talks between the company and Superior Energy Services and allegedly tipped off Dupuis, a childhood friend, during a September 2006 hunting trip in Canada.
On Sept. 18, 2006, the first business day after he returned from the trip, Dupuis, who had no previous history of trading Warrior Energy shares, allegedly sold the only two stock holdings he had in order to purchase 5,000 shares of Warrior Energy stock for about $85,000, the suit stated.
On Sept. 25, 2006, Warrior Energy announced the merger agreement. News of the agreement resulted in a near 70 percent increase in Warrior’s stock, which rose from $14.34 per share to $24.22.
On Oct. 3, 2006, Dupuis allegedly sold all of his stock in Warrior Energy for a profit of about $41,800, the suit stated.
“I don’t think I did anything illegal,” Hollier said.
He called the SEC’s complaint “circumstantial at best.”
He said he never forewarned Dupuis about the sale. He said Dupuis asked if it was a good stock or a good buy, and as a board member he replied that it was.
The suit states that Hollier served as a member of Warrior Energy’s board of directors from April 2006 until December 2006, when the company merged with Superior Energy. He is a partner in a private equity firm called Hollam Pinnacle Group, according to the suit.
Dupuis works for an energy consulting firm in Lafayette, the suit stated.
The SEC claims the two violated antifraud provisions and is seeking a permanent injunction against future violations; the forced return of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest; and civil penalties.
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