Former Van Gilder Insurance Corp. CEO Michael Van Gilder is continuing to work for the Denver-based insurance brokerage despite his indictment last week by a federal grand jury on five counts of insider trading, his attorney confirmed.

“I'm still working for our company and will continue to work to maintain its leadership status in our industry,” Mr. Van Gilder said in an e-mail obtained by Business Insurance that was sent last weekend to his family and friends.

In the email, Mr. Van Gilder also vigorously denied the charges against him. If convicted on all five counts leveled against him, Mr. Van Gilder could face up to 100 years in prison and $25 million in fines.

Because the indictment involves Mr. Van Gilder's personal investment activities, and not his work at the insurance brokerage, “nothing would preclude him from continuing to work for Van Gilder” Insurance Corp., said a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, which teamed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the insider trading investigation. Moreover, “Van Gilder the brokerage is not the subject of the investigation,” the spokesman said.

However, the investigation continues into other parties allegedly involved in the scheme, including a pair of Mr. Van Gilder's relatives and one of Mr. Van Gilder's coworkers, according to the indictment.

Mr. Van Gilder, 45, appeared in U.S. District Court in Denver on Friday and was released on $2.5 million bond after surrendering his passport to authorities. He is scheduled back in court Wednesday for arraignment.

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In a statement issued Friday, Mr. Van Gilder's attorney, David B. Savitz, a Denver-based lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said Mr. Van Gilder “voluntarily surrendered today to the court in order to vigorously contest and plead not guilty to each and every charge of the indictment.”

“An indictment is the vehicle in which accusations are brought against an individual in federal court … It has absolutely no evidentiary value and is not considered evidence of any charge alleged in the indictment,” the statement said.

The indictment alleges that Mr. Van Gilder traded shares of Delta Petroleum Corp. between Nov. 5, 2007, until at least Jan. 9, 2008, after receiving inside information from a close friend who was an executive at the Denver-based oil and gas production and exploration company.

Also during that time, Mr. Van Gilder allegedly provided insurance policies for operations tied to Delta, which now operates as Houston-based Par Petroleum after emerging from bankruptcy this year.

According to a separate civil complaint also filed Friday by the SEC, Mr. Van Gilder made approximately $109,000 in illegal profits as a result of the insider trading scheme. In addition, “he tipped several others, encouraging them to do the same, including a pair of relatives via an email with the subject line 'Xmas present',” an SEC statement said.

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The SEC complaint also alleges that a co-worker of Mr. Van Gilder's at the insurance brokerage purchased 300 shares of Delta stock based on the information that Mr. Van Gilder shared with that individual, who was not identified. Altogether, the others who benefited from Mr. Van Gilder's alleged inside information garnered approximately $52,000 in illegal profits, according to the SEC statement.

Van Gilder Insurance issued a statement Friday announcing that Michael Van Gilder had stepped down from his role as CEO and that his “personal legal challenges related to the charges announced today have nothing to do with the company. The company is not a subject of the investigation and does not trade in securities.”

“We continue to focus on providing our clients the same level of exceptional service we have offered for 107 years. We are moving forward with a strong, stable leadership and a continued focus on customer satisfaction,” said the statement, which was attributed to Don Woods, president of Van Gilder Insurance Corp., who was named CEO of the brokerage after Mr. Van Gilder resigned the post last week.

Founded in 1905, Van Gilder Insurance is a privately held insurance brokerage firm with more than 130 employees. It ranks as the 94th largest broker of U.S. business with $20.4 million in 2011 revenues, according Business Insurance's latest ranking of U.S. brokers. Dell Van Gilder Jr., Michael Van Gilder's father, serves as the brokerage firm's chairman, and is not named in the indictment or the complaint.