Father and son fined for insider trading

A former director of Community Bancorp and his son will pay more than $73,000 to settle charges with the SEC.

A former director of Community Bancorp and his son have agreed to pay more than $73,000 to settle charges with the SEC that they profited from inside information.
The Securities and Exchange Commission complaint, which was filed in U.S. district court in Las Vegas, alleges that Charles R. Norton and Chad R. Norton profited from trading shares of Valley Bancorp.
Community Bancorp is the bank holding company for Community Bank of Nevada, a Nevada-chartered bank headquartered in Las Vegas.
The SEC complaint alleges that Charles Norton acquired confidential information about the bank’s acquisition of Valley Bancorp at a May 2006 board meeting and later informed his son about the acquisition.
Chad Norton made stock trades based on that inside information, buying 7,000 Valley Bancorp shares between May 16, 2006, and the June 28 announcement of the deal.
On the first trading day after the announcement, Valley Bancorp’s stock price increased by more than 13%.
In July 2006, Chad Norton sold the Valley Bancorp shares for a profit of $35,064.71.
In settling the SEC’s charges, Charles and Chad Norton have agreed to pay $38,433.72, representing the disgorgement of their illegal trading profits and prejudgment interest.
In addition, the defendants will also pay a civil penalty of $35,064.71
Under the terms of the settlement, Charles Norton will be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years.