SEC v. Sean Stewart (insider trading, 2016)

Settled

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In 2015 the SEC sued investment banker Sean Stewart and his father Robert Stewart over an insider-trading scheme worth about $1.1 million. Robert Stewart's judgment was entered in September 2017, and a consent final judgment against Sean Stewart followed on August 12, 2020.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

$154k

Prejudgment interest

$11.2k

Total relief

$165k

Alleged gain

$1.1m

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Securities and Exchange Commission announced this matter on August 18, 2016 as release LR-23620. The respondents named are Sean Stewart and Robert K. Stewart (2 individuals, 0 entities).

This library tags the matter as insider trading, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

Non-monetary relief recorded: officer-and-director bar.

The release references a parallel criminal proceeding. Where a criminal case exists, the civil and criminal outcomes are recorded separately, because they resolve on different standards of proof.

SEC releases show both defendants resolved. On September 27, 2017 the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Robert K. Stewart ordering disgorgement of $153,675.65 and interest of $11,240.76, to be satisfied by a forfeiture order in his criminal case, with a lifetime officer-and-director bar (release 23948). On August 12, 2020 the court entered a final consent judgment against Sean Stewart enjoining him from further violations; the release (24867) states no monetary amount for him. Sean Stewart was convicted by a jury, had that conviction overturned on appeal and was convicted again at a second trial, and the 2020 release gives his sentence as two years in prison. The money fields carry Robert Stewart's amounts. Sean Stewart consented without admitting or denying the allegations. Checked on 2026-10-04.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Insider trading — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2016-08-18 Litigation release published
2. 2017-09-27 Final judgment against Robert K. Stewart (SEC LR-23948)
3. 2020-08-12 Final consent judgment against Sean Stewart (SEC LR-24867)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• SEC litigation release
• SEC litigation release 23948 (Robert Stewart judgment)
• SEC litigation release 24867 (Sean Stewart judgment)

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Same matter

The library links these 4 records because they appear to concern one matter: the same lead defendant, an overlapping technique tag and close filing dates, or a shared court docket or a release that cites the other. Records are listed by date filed.

This grouping is the library's, made by matching names, techniques, dates and citations when the site is built. It is not the regulator's or a court's determination that the records are one case, and it errs towards missing a link rather than making a false one.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.