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Former Van Gilder Insurance Corp. CEO Michael Van Gilder has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Denver to one count of securities fraud in the insider-trading case filed against him last year, the U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed.
Mr. Van Gilder, who was indicted in October by a federal grand jury on five counts of insider trading, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single count that he purchased 90 call options on Delta Petroleum Corp. stock in December 2007, right before a private investment firm owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian acquired a 35% stake in the oil and gas exploration company.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 14.
Mr. Van Gilder, who stepped down as CEO of Denver-based Van Gilder Insurance Corp. in October, originally pleaded not guilty to all five securities fraud charges.
Van Gilder Insurance is a privately held insurance brokerage firm in Denver with more than 130 employees. It ranks as the 94th-largest broker of U.S. business with $20.4 million in 2011 revenues, according to Business Insurance's latest ranking of U.S. brokers.
A parallel civil suit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against Mr. Van Gilder and Roger Parker, the former CEO of Delta Petroleum, is proceeding in the same federal court.