ICYMI: Watertown Developer Sentenced to 2 Years for Insider Trading

May 10

WATERTOWN, MA - A 78-year-old Watertown real estate developer was sentenced to two years in federal prison after being convicted of participating in insider trading earlier this year.

Robert H. Bray, owner of R&B Construction, was found guilty of buying and selling shares in Wainwright Bank & Trust Company after receiving a tip from a friend more than two weeks before the company's acquisition was publicly announced in 2010.

See also: Cocktail Napkin Tip Leads to Insider Trading Conviction for Watertown Man

According to the Department of Justice, Bray's friend, who was an executive at Eastern Bank in Boston, passed the tip to Bray on a napkin while the two drank at the bar of a Watertown country club where they are both members. Bray ultimately used the tip to trade Wainwright shares in the weeks prior to its announcement, netting a profit of approximately $300,000, the Department of Justice said.

Bray was convicted of one count of securities fraud following a four-day trial; in addition to forfeiting the $300,000, he must also pay a fine of $1 million.