ChattemFour Georgia men have been indicted in federal court for securities fraud in connection with Chattem Inc.’s acquisition by a French pharmaceutical company in 2009.
Thomas D. Melvin, C. Roan Berry, Michael S. Cain and Joel C. Jinks were charged with using inside information related to the purchase of shares of Chattem stock before the transaction was publicly announced. Chattem shares rose about 33 percent the day after the announcement.
Earlier this year, two others, Andrew Jacobs and his brother, Leslie Jacobs, of Cleveland, Ohio, were found guilty in federal court of making illicit profits after using insider information related to the Chattem deal.
In the latest case filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Newnan, Ga., the indictment said Melvin was an accountant in Griffin, Ga. One of his clients was a Chattem board member who was present in a November 2009 board meeting in which the proposed purchase by Sanofi was discussed, the indictment said.
On or near Dec. 4, Melvin met with the board member, who was not named in the indictment and who provided confidential information about the merger for purposes of obtaining personal tax advice.
Melvin served as the personal accountant for the other three people charged Tuesday. He disclosed the inside information to them for his own personal benefit with the understanding it would be used for purchasing or selling securities, the indictment said.
The others also purchased Chattem shares, according to the charges.
See more in Friday’s Times Free Press.