Attorney 1 of 3 Accused of Inside Trading

MANHATTAN (CN) - Two men - one of them an attorney - made more than $1 million from inside trading after a third man "breached a duty of trust and confidence to his wife," an administrative assistant for Merrill Lynch Canada, and passed along tips about eight business acquisitions, the SEC claims in Federal Court.

The SEC claims Michael Goodman misappropriated the information from his wife and passed it along to his friend and business associate Phillip Macdonald, and another business associate, Martin Gollan. "Macdonald and Gollan then purchased securities of certain public[ly] traded companies on the basis of the material nonpublic information," the SEC says.

Goodman, 36, of Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, works or worked for a scrap metal company; Macdonald, 48, of North York, Ontario, is or was a self-employed attorney; Gollan, 63, of North York, is or was a scrap metal dealer, according to the complaint.

Macdonald and Gollan are accused of illegally trading in shares of "target companies" Creo, Masonite International, Eon Labs, Performance Food Group, Great Lakes Chemical, Shopko Stores, Electronics Boutique Holdings, and Commercial Federal Corp.

The SEC seeks disgorgement and penalties.

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