A Swiss trader will pay more than $2.8 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that he traded on nonpublic information to profit when a biometrics company was acquired by Apple Inc.
Helmut Anscheringer bought stock and call options in Melbourne, Florida-based Authentec Inc. after learning from a friend related to an executive that Apple had proposed to buy the firm, the SEC said Monday. Authentec provides fingerprint sensors and software for electronic devices.
Anscheringer reaped more than $1.8 million in illicit profits when Authentec stock closed 60 percent higher after the firm said in July 2012 that it would become a wholly owned Apple subsidiary, the SEC said.
Anscheringer, who lives in Basel, Switzerland, settled the claims without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, the agency said. His payment includes a penalty of about $910,000.
Phillip L. Stern, a Neal Gerber & Eisenberg attorney listed by the SEC as defense counsel for Anscheringer, declined to comment on the case.
© Copyright 2025 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.