Hugh Hefner's Son-In-Law Accused Of Insider Trading In Playboy Stock

Publish date: 2024-08-04
2011-08-03T18:54:37Z

The SEC just sued Hugh Hefner's son in law for allegedly insider trading.

William Marovitz, Hef's son in law, was allegedly trading in Playboy stock illegally -- allegedly trading on tips he got from his wife, the former CEO of the firm.

One of the alleged tips included a possible takeover by the company Iconix, according to CNBC.

Marotivz allegedly traded the sexy magazine's stock in his own account from 2004-2009. And allegedly, Christie warned him not to do it.

Christie Hefner and William Marovitz Zimbio

One question here: Aren't Senators allowed to insider trade? Too bad Marovitz served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980 and the Illinois State Senate from 1980-1993. He's accused of insider trading from 2004-2009. 

Anyway, according to Dealbook, the complaint reads:

"Despite instructions from his wife that he should not trade in shares of Playboy and a warning from the general counsel of Playboy about hus buying or selling Playboy stock, Marovitz bought and sold shares of Playboy in his own brokerage accounts between 2004 and 2009 ahead of public news announcements."

William Marovitz was accused of gaining $100,000 by trading on confidential information gleaned from his wife, according to the complaint filed Wednesday morning that is cited in Dealbook.

We'll have more details in a moment (the story hasn't fully come out yet).

Christie is the daughter of Hef and his first wife, Mildred Williams. Check out their wedding photo here. Christie was CEO of Playboy from 1988 until 2009, when she stepped down.

She married Marovitz, a former Illinois Senator and a real estate developer and attorney, in 1995.

Here's what we know about him, according to a profile of him on the company website for Level-1 (he's on the board):

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