SEC v. Kevin A. Van de Grift, Gil Friedman — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26473, dated January 30, 2026.
The SEC charged Kevin A. Van de Grift, a CPA and day-trader, with insider trading. His friend, Gil Friedman, a former consultant, tipped him off about a company's acquisition. Van de Grift then bought stock based on this secret information and sold it for a significant profit after the acquisition was announced. He has now settled with the SEC, agreeing to penalties and sanctions.
Imagine your friend knows a big secret about a company before anyone else does. Your friend tells you, and you use that secret information to buy a lot of that company's stock. When the secret comes out and everyone else buys the stock, its price goes up, and you sell yours for a big profit. This is illegal because it's not fair to other investors who don't have the secret information. In this case, a man named Kevin Van de Grift did just that and has now agreed to pay money and face consequences.
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.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the entry of a final consent judgment as to Kevin A. Van de Grift in its civil enforcement action. Van de Grift, a day-trader and certified public accountant, was charged with insider trading. According to the SEC’s complaint, Gil Friedman, a former consultant, tipped Van de Grift with material, nonpublic information concerning Francisco Partners’ potential acquisition of Verifone Systems, Inc. Based on this tip, Van de Grift purchased 60,000 shares of Verifone stock from March 5, 2018 through March 9, 2018, and subsequently sold them on April 10, 2018, for a profit of approximately $300,000. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Van de Grift consented to a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. He was also barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years. The judgment ordered him to pay disgorgement of $298,000 plus prejudgment interest of $69,022.67, and imposed a civil penalty of $298,000. The final judgment was entered by the Court on January 27, 2026. Van de Grift also agreed to settle an administrative proceeding, suspending him from appearing or practicing before the SEC as an accountant with the right to apply for reinstatement after five years. Mr. Friedman previously settled the SEC’s litigation. The SEC’s litigation and investigation were conducted by Sharan Lieberman, Michael Cates, James McDonald, Gregory Kasper, Nicholas Heinke, Daniel Konosky, and Ian Karpel. The SEC acknowledges the assistance and cooperation of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Named in this action: Kevin A. Van de Grift, Gil Friedman.