Ex-Lehman employee accused of insider trading
Traders called Matthew Devlin and his wife the "golden goose," according to SEC documents.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A former Lehman Brothers employee has been charged with illegal insider trading in a plot that accrued over $4.8 million in profits in a four-year span, according to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
The SEC alleges that Matthew Devlin, a former registered representative of Lehman, received inside information from his wife, "a partner in the New York City office of an international public relations firm working on the deals" and made trades and tipped friends and clients based on "confidential, nonpublic information about 13 impending corporate transactions."
Lehman Brothers, a global finance and banking giant, filed for bankruptcy in September and was later sold -- marking one of the most high-profile collapses of the current financial meltdown.
Devlin allegedly engaged in illicit trading from around March 2004 through July 2008. The SEC said he and his wife were referred to as the "golden goose" by traders who found the insider information they provided valuable.
In addition, the SEC alleges Devlin was compensated with swanky gifts such as a Cartier watch, a widescreen TV, cash, and Porsche driving lessons.
The SEC complaint also charges six other people and two companies with insider trading for tipping and trading based on the information Devlin provided.
--CNN's Emily Anderson contributed to this report. 
