On July 25, a Seattle stock trader who pled guilty to trading on inside information he received from an employee of Microsoft Corp., including information regarding Microsoft’s 2012 investment in Barnes & Noble’s e-reader business, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison. The trader, Sean Stokke, was also ordered to forfeit the $410,000 in illicit profits he obtained from the trades. According to the government, Stokke provided the Microsoft employee, Brian Jorgensen, with envelopes of cash in exchange for the inside information. United States v. Stokke, 14 Cr. 99 (W.D. Wash.) FBI Press Release; US District Court Judgment.
