Former Colorado Insurance Exec Guilty Of Securities Fraud

Former insurance executive Michael Van Gilder has pleaded guilty to securities fraud in an insider-trading case connected to billionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s 2008 investment in Denver-based Delta Petroleum.

According to the Denver Post, Van Gilder admitted Wednesday he traded on details of Kerkorian’s investment that were provided to him by an unidentified, high-level Delta executive.

Van Gilder is also a co-defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to the Kerkorian deal, a $684 million investment that sent Delta’s sagging stock soaring when it was announced in 2007.