O.C. Executive Accused of Illegal Stock Trading

J. Thomas Talbot, an Orange County businessman and former director of the title insurance giant Fidelity National Financial Inc., was accused Thursday of trading on inside information in a civil suit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Talbot bought and sold shares of LendingTree Inc. last year after learning at a Fidelity board meeting that the online lender would be acquired at a hefty premium, the SEC alleged.

On April 22, 2003, Fidelity’s chief executive told the board that LendingTree would soon be bought, the agency said in a complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles. At the time, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fidelity owned 12% of LendingTree.

Days later, Talbot allegedly bought 10,000 shares of LendingTree at $13.50 to $14.50 a share. When USA Interactive, now InterActiveCorp, announced a deal to buy LendingTree on May 5, 2003, Talbot sold the shares for $20.94 each, netting $67,881.

Talbot’s attorney, Richard Marmaro of Los Angeles, said he would “forcefully defend” his client: “The allegations against Mr. Talbot are unfounded, and we look forward to the opportunity to present our case in court.”

Talbot, a former airline industry executive, owns the Newport Beach investment firm Talbot Co. and serves on the boards of two other publicly traded real estate-related firms, California Coastal Communities Inc. in Irvine and Dallas-based Hallwood Group Inc.

Josh Friedman