ICED TEA TO BLOCKCHAIN: Insider Profits Skyrocket 380% on Secret Tip!

SEC v. Gannon Giguiere, Oliver-Barret Lindsay, Eric J. Watson — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26350, dated July 15, 2025.

The SEC accused Eric Watson, a major shareholder of Long Island Iced Tea Corp., of insider trading. Watson allegedly tipped off a business associate, Oliver-Barret Lindsay, about the company's plan to pivot to blockchain technology, despite signing a confidentiality agreement. Lindsay then passed the information to Gannon Giguiere, who bought shares and profited over $160,000 when the stock price surged after the announcement. Watson's motion to dismiss was denied, and the SEC's claims against him proceed.

In Plain English

Imagine a company is secretly planning a big change, like switching from making juice to building websites. One of the company's leaders, Eric, knew about this secret plan. He told his friend Oliver, even though he promised not to share secrets. Oliver then told his friend Gannon. Gannon quickly bought a lot of the company's stock because he knew the price would go up when the secret plan was announced. When the company announced the change, the stock price shot up, and Gannon sold his shares for a big profit. The SEC is taking action because Eric shared secret information that helped his friends make money unfairly.

Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

1. Company Plans a Major Shift Long Island Iced Tea Corp. (LTEA) was planning a significant change: moving away from making soft drinks to focusing on blockchain technology. Eric J. Watson, a major shareholder and insider, was involved in planning this pivot.
2. Confidentiality Agreement Ignored Watson had signed a confidentiality agreement, meaning he promised not to share secret company information. However, he allegedly ignored this agreement.
3. Tipping Off an Associate Watson allegedly shared material nonpublic information about the upcoming business pivot with his business associate, Oliver-Barret Lindsay. This included sharing a draft of the company's press release announcing the change.
4. Information Passed On Lindsay then allegedly passed this confidential information about the blockchain pivot to his friend, Gannon Giguiere, who was a stock promoter.
5. Stock Purchase Within hours of receiving the nonpublic information, Giguiere purchased 35,000 shares of LTEA stock on December 20, 2017, at an average cost of $2.42 per share.
6. Public Announcement On December 21, 2017, LTEA publicly announced its pivot to blockchain technology. This announcement caused the company's stock price and trading volume to skyrocket.
7. Stock Price Soars Following the announcement, LTEA's stock price closed at $6.91 per share on December 21, 2017, representing an intraday spike of more than 380% from its previous closing price.
8. Profitable Sale Less than two hours after the announcement, Giguiere sold all 35,000 shares he had purchased, allegedly realizing over $160,000 in illicit profits.

The Enforcement Action

On June 30, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied defendant Eric J. Watson’s motion to dismiss the SEC’s insider trading claim against him. The SEC’s complaint, filed on July 9, 2021, alleges Watson tipped his business associate, Oliver-Barret Lindsay, with material nonpublic information about LTEA’s pivot to blockchain technology. Lindsay then passed the information to Gannon Giguiere, who purchased shares and profited over $160,000 when the stock price surged. The Court found the SEC sufficiently alleged insider tipping and properly served Watson. Watson's counterclaim against the SEC was dismissed. Final consent judgments were entered against Giguiere and Lindsay on December 28, 2023, and September 20, 2024, respectively. Watson is the only remaining defendant.

Named in this action: Gannon Giguiere, Oliver-Barret Lindsay, Eric J. Watson.

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