London resident charged by US, held in UK for 'hack-to-trade' scheme

LONDON, U.K.: A British hacker has been arrested and charged by U.S. authorities with obtaining details of the expected earnings of five companies and making US$3.75 million of illegal profit by trading before results were released.

Robert Westbrook, 39, of London, faces extradition by the U.S. Department of Justice on securities fraud, wire fraud, and five computer fraud charges contained in a criminal indictment made public this week.

Westbrook was arrested in the United Kingdom this week on civil charges related to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The companies were not identified by name in court papers filed in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.

Financial and stock price details in the SEC complaint suggest the companies are food container maker Tupperware, general contractor Tutor Perini, software provider Guidewire Software, gas station operator Murphy USA, and telecommunications equipment maker Lumentum Holdings.

Westbrook's "hack-to-trade" scheme involved gaining access to executives' email accounts between January 2019 and May 2020 and using material nonpublic information to buy stocks and options prior to at least 14 earnings announcements.

Westbrook also allegedly implemented rules to have content from executives' email accounts automatically forwarded to his accounts on numerous occasions.

The five companies were not accused of wrongdoing.

The securities fraud and wire fraud counts each carry a maximum 20-year prison term, while each computer fraud count carries a maximum five-year term.