Phil Mickelson May Be Out Of The Hot Seat On Clorox Co

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It seems that regulators have decided that professional golfer Phil Mickelson was not guilty of insider trading in connection with some well-timed trades he made of The Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX) shares. However, The New York Times reports that four of its sources say investigators still have Carl Icahn and well-known sports gambler William Walters under the microscope in connection with trades of Clorox. Icahn has denied that he did anything wrong, and experts seem to think he never violated any securities rules.

Mickelson’s trades not as well-timed as first thought

Apparently Mickelson’s trades did not come right as Icahn was preparing an unsolicited buyout offer for The Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX) in 2011. When investigators first began looking into trades of Clorox by Mickelson, Icahn and Walters, they were operating on the theory that Carl Icahn may have shared private information about his bid for Clorox with Walters. They believed that Walters then made some trades based on those details and told Mickelson about them as well.

According to The New York Times’ sources, investigators with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FBI haven’t found any evidence that Mickelson traded by shares of The Clorox Co (NYSE:CLX). The newspaper said the sources it cited previously said they had made a mistake by overstating the scope of the probe.

Mickelson still investigated regarding Dean Foods

However, those sources say the FBI and the SEC are still investigating Phil Mickelson and William Walters in connection with trades of Dean Foods Co (NYSE:DF) in 2012, which came right before the company’s stock skyrocketed. They said Walters raked in over $15 million and Mickelson brought in almost $1 million in the questionable trades. Mickelson has denied that he did anything wrong.

Currently the FBI is running a criminal investigation, while the SEC is running a civil case. According to The Times, FBI investigators have assured Mickelson that they have no intention of charging him in the criminal investigation. They reportedly said they just want information from him about Walters. At this point, however, officials have not officially accused anyone in either of these investigations and might never actually file any cases.

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