OKC Oilman fined for lying to FBI

Oklahoma City oilman John Kenneth Davidson has been hit with a $100,000 fine from a federal judge for lying to an FBI agent during an insider trading investigation.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot fined the 68-year old Davidson this week and did not sentence him to prison over the 2018 incident. Davidson was also put on probation for two years and ordered to complete 104 hours of community service.

While doing so, the judge also took note of Davidson’s charitable work and said he was satisfied “this ugly chapter” in Davidson’s life is closed. Davidson had pleaded guilty in March of 2019 and admitted he lied to the FBI agent, claiming he had not received nonpublic information in 2014 about the impending merger of Covidien PLC with its rival.

Davidson had purchased shares in Covidien after a Covidien director had told him about the planned merger. Davidson eventually profited $19,212 according to an investigation by the SEC. He already has repaid $42,246 in restitution to the SEC for those “illicit gains.”

Davidson is one of a handful of people caught up in the probe. Another is John Special, a Stillwater oilman who agreed last fall to pay nearly $3 million to the SEC.