Minnesota fitness firm VP, friends, indicted in Chicago
Updated 5 p.m. | Posted 12:59 p.m.
A former executive of Chanhassen-based Life Time Fitness was charged Friday with insider trading.
The Securites and Exchange Commission says Shane Fleming of Minneapolis, a former vice president at Life Time, tipped off a friend in early 2015 that the chain was in talks with a private equity firm.
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According to the complaint, Fleming's friend passed the tip on to six other traders. They allegedly bought Life Time Fitness stock options, then sold them at a nearly $900,000 profit after news broke of the pending deal.
The SEC says the traders then paid Fleming and his friend kickbacks.
Life Time spokesperson Jason Thunstrom declined comment on the charges, but said the alleged actions violate company rules.
"Life Time had clear insider trading policies in place that prevented tipping or trading on material nonpublic information," he said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago says Fleming and the seven others will also face criminal charges.