Ex-Deloitte exec pleads to insider trading

• Tweet

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- An ex-partner at the Chicago office of a Big 4 accounting firm pleaded guilty to insider trading involving his firm's clients, the Justice Department said.

Thomas Flanagan, 64, of Chicago, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of securities fraud, admitting he received about $420,000 in illegal profits from illegally trading on the inside information he got concerning Deloitte & Touche's clients Best Buy, Walgreen, Motorola and Sears Holding Corp., the Justice Department said in a release.

Flanagan admitted he illegally bought and sold securities using accounts that he owned or controlled. He also admitted tipping a relative, so that person traded on the inside information Flanagan received. The relative, who was not charged, received at least $58,000 in illegal profits, the Justice Department said.

Flanagan, a certified public accountant, was a partner in Deloitte's Chicago office when he engaged in insider trading between December 2006 and May 2008. Deloitte's headquarters are in London.

Flanagan is free on his own recognizance until his sentencing hearing Oct. 25.