Golfer Phil Mickelson profited almost $1M in Dean Foods insider-trading case: SEC

Golfer Phil Mickelson profited from insider information about Dean Foods Co. that he received from gambler William “Billy” Walters, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Mickelson gained almost $1 million from the trading, according to the SEC case filed Thursday. The SEC termed him a “relief defendant.” That means Mr. Mickelson hasn't been accused of wrongdoing, but is named in the complaint for the purpose of recovering allegedly ill-gotten gains. The SEC complaint was released after U.S. prosecutors filed insider-trading charges against Mr. Walters and former Dean Foods Chairman Tom C. Davis. Mr. Mickelson wasn't named in the criminal case. Mr. Mickelson's lawyer and talent agency declined to comment. Mr. Mickelson owed Mr. Walters money and the Las Vegas gambler called him in July 2012, urging the three-time Masters champion to trade in Dean Foods stock, according to the SEC complaint. The following day, Mr. Mickelson traded in three brokerage accounts he controlled. About a week later, shares jumped 40 percent on announcements of strong quarterly earnings and that Dean Foods would spin off its WhiteWave subsidiary, earning Mr. Mickelson about $931,000. The investigation made headlines in 2014 with news that the government was probing Mr. Davis, Mr. Walters and Mr. Mickelson ahead of billionaire investor Carl Icahn's $10.2 billion offer in 2011 for Clorox Co. Neither Clorox nor Mr. Icahn were mentioned in the SEC or Justice Department documents Thursday. Mr. Icahn hasn't been accused of wrongdoing. Prosecutors referred in their complaint to someone else who owed a gambling debt to Mr. Walters. They spoke by phone and texted in July 2012 before the person bought 240,000 shares in Dean Foods, using three brokerage accounts. The person had never previously traded in the stock, prosecutors said. The timing and description of those trades broadly match the SEC material about Mr. Mickelson.