SEC v. Thomas W. Avent, Jr., Raymond J. Pirrello, Jr., and Lawrence J. Penna (insider trading, 2016)

Judgment entered

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In July 2016 the SEC charged accountant Thomas Avent, broker Raymond Pirrello and Lawrence Penna with insider trading ahead of three acquisitions. Penna settled in 2016 and Avent in 2019, and after a jury found Pirrello liable on August 14, 2019, a final judgment of September 9, 2019 ended the case.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

$312k

Disgorgement

$101k

Prejudgment interest

$11.8k

Total relief

$425k

Alleged gain

—

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 July 8, 2016 as release LR-23593. The respondents named are Thomas W. Avent, Jr., Raymond J. Pirrello, Jr. and Lawrence J. Penna (3 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.

Three judgments in the Northern District of Georgia resolve the case. Penna consented on October 25, 2016 to disgorgement of $79,922, interest of $11,766.39 and a penalty of $79,922. Avent consented on August 2, 2019 to an injunction and a $125,000 penalty, and separately consented to a permanent bar from practising before the SEC (release 24554). A jury returned a verdict finding Pirrello liable on all counts on August 14, 2019 (release 24564), and the judgment of September 9, 2019 orders disgorgement of $21,500 and a $107,000 penalty. The money fields add these figures. Penna and Avent did not admit or deny the allegations; the Pirrello judgment follows a jury verdict. 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. 2016-07-08 Litigation release published
2. 2016-10-25 Consent final judgment against Lawrence Penna
3. 2019-08-02 Consent final judgment against Thomas Avent (SEC LR-24554)
4. 2019-08-14 Jury finds Pirrello liable (SEC LR-24564)
5. 2019-09-09 Final judgment against Raymond Pirrello after jury verdict

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
• Final judgment as to Penna (Oct. 25, 2016)
• SEC litigation release 24554 (Avent)
• SEC litigation release 24564 (Pirrello verdict)
• Final judgment as to Pirrello (Sept. 9, 2019)

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 2 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.