UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 16046 / January 26, 1999
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. HONG LU AND CHI-LIN TOM, ET
AL. United States District Court for the Northern District of
California, No. 99-9289 (MHP).
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California today
announced the filing of separate civil and criminal actions
against two former employees of Advanced Fibre Communications,
Inc. ("Advanced Fibre"), a manufacturer of telecommunications
components based in Petaluma, California. The actions stem from
the former employees’ alleged insider trading in Advanced Fibre
options in June and July of 1998. The complaint and criminal
indictment allege that the employees netted more than $327,000 in
illegal profits.
Named as defendants in the two actions are: Chi-lin Tom, 45,
who was Advanced Fibre’s Director of Design Verification and
Testing at the time of the alleged illegal trading; and Hong Lu,
27, who was then an Advanced Fibre engineer. Also named as a
relief defendant in the SEC’s civil complaint is Hong Lu’s wife,
Yi Lu, 27. Mr. Tom and the Lus all reside in Rohnert Park,
California.
According to the allegations of the SEC’s civil complaint
and the criminal indictment returned by a federal grand jury
yesterday, Mr. Tom learned on June 29, 1998, that Advanced Fibre
would soon publicly announce lower-than-expected revenues for the
quarter ending June 30. Mr. Tom and Mr. Lu agreed that Mr. Lu
would trade Advanced Fibre securities so that both could profit
from their inside information.
The complaint and indictment further allege that beginning
at 6:30 a.m. on June 30, Mr. Lu spent approximately $15,500 to
purchase 200 put option contracts on Advanced Fibre stock for
himself and Mr. Tom. At the time, Advanced Fibre stock was
trading for approximately $40 per share. The options contracts,
which expired on July 18, 1998, would only be profitable if the
stock price fell below $35 per share.
According to the complaint and indictment, after the market
closed for trading on June 30, 1998, Advanced Fibre issued an
early-warning announcement that its revenues and earnings for the
quarter ended June 30 would be lower than expected. Advanced
Fibre stock fell more than 55 percent to $18 per share on July 1.
SNIPPETS:
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. HONG LU AND CHI-LIN TOM, ET AL. United States District
The actions stem from the former employees’ alleged insider trading in Advanced Fibre options
The complaint and criminal indictment allege that the employees netted more than $327,000 in
Named as defendants in the two actions are: Chi-lin Tom, 45, who was Advanced Fibre’s
According to the allegations of the SEC’s civil complaint and the criminal indictment
The complaint and indictment further allege that beginning at 6:30 a.m. on June 30, Mr. Lu
Advanced Fibre stock was trading for approximately $40 per share.
The options contracts, which expired on July 18, 1998, would only be profitable if the stock
According to the complaint and indictment, after the market closed for trading on June 30,
The complaint and indictment allege that after the price of Advanced Fibre stock fell, on
In its civil complaint, the SEC charges Mr. Lu and Mr. Tom with securities fraud based on
In addition, the indictment charges each man with four counts each of making false statements
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