Second Ruston man charged with insider trading

A second man from Ruston has been charged with illegal stock trading in connection with the The Shaw Group’s 2012 merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.

Billy J. Adcox Jr., 44, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Baton Rouge this week and charged with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

Adcox’s indictment follows last month’s indictment of Jesse Roberts III, 43, of Ruston, a dentist who practices in Ruston and Monroe.

Goverment prosecutors said Roberts, who they accuse of securing illegal profits of $765,000 through trading call option contracts, tipped off Adcox, who they say made more than $37,000 from illegal insider trading.

Prosecutors allege Roberts was originally tipped off on nonpublic information about the pending acquisition of Shaw, which was headquartered in Baton Rouge, by his brother-in-law Scott Zeringue, a former executive with The Shaw Group.

Zeringue, 48, who no longer works for Shaw, pleaded guilty on June 27,2014 to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

The government also accuses Adcox of sharing the information with another person identified in the indictment only as John Doe.

Federal law bars officers, directors and other members of publicly traded companies from using secret company information to profit from stock trades.

Roberts’ attorney, Shaun Clark of Houston, told The News-Star this week his client plans to plead not guilty when Roberts is arraigned in federal court in Baton Rouge on March 27

Adcox’s indictment was announced by U.S. Attorneys Walt Green and Stephanie Finley.

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