Consultant Tipped Day Trader Friend on Verifone Deal, SEC Says

A private equity firm’s financial consultant learned about its planned acquisition of Verifone Systems Inc. and enabled his close friend, a day trader, to make $300,000 on the payment technology company’s stock, the SEC alleges.

Gil Friedman, who consulted for Francisco Partners Management LP, and Kevin Van de Grift were neighbors who spoke often with each other and vacationed together with their families, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC filed its complaint Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Van de Grift sold 60,000 shares of Verifone stock immediately after the ...