NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The SEC said Thursday that it settled an insider trading investigation with a former FleetBoston employee who allegedly bought Fleet securities shortly before the company said it would be bought by Bank of America.

The SEC said it filed an enforcement action against Guillermo Garcia Simon after he allegedly bought FleetBoston call options on Friday, October 24, 2003 while in possession of company information about the merger.

Bank of America announced the Fleet deal on Monday, October 28, 2003 and the Securities and Exchange Commission took action against Simon that same day, according to the agency.

Before the announcement, Simon's call options, which give the holder the right to buy a stock at a preset price, were valued at about $11,000. Following the statement, the value to the options jumped to about $473,000 as Fleet shares soared 25 percent.

Although he did not admit or deny any wrongdoing, Simon will pay $525,000 in fines, penalties and surrendered assets as part of the settlement, the SEC said.

Bank of America agreed to buy FleetBoston for $47 billion amid a slew of bank mergers that included J.P. Morgan's $58 billion acquisition of Bank One.