Martha Stewart, the queen of culinary and lifestyle excellence and a former convicted felon and tax evader who spent time in prison, recently resigned from the board and her position as Director of Sequential Brands Group, a fashion group with clients like the Jessica Simpson brand.
Stewart's lawyer said she had tendered her resignation from the board in March 2021 and that the company released its end-of-year results in April and May. At that time, the firm shared information that some senior executives had resigned and changed company creditor agreements.
On June 4 and 5, the culinary doyenne sold $67,000 worth of stock in Sequential Brands Group. Stewart's two separate sales of 3,246 shares in Sequential Brands Group in early June were at costs of $10.74 and $10.82, sequentially.
Just a few days later, on June 9, Bloomberg reported the company was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and would possibly file very soon, based upon information from close sources.
Bloomberg reported Sequential Brands Group Inc. was already trying to sell off assets and bring in cash, negotiating with creditors. But Bloomberg now reported the beleaguered firm was "preparing to unload its brands under a process that will likely take place in court" and would use the expected proceeds to be part of the paying down of debt to creditors.
Stewart was on the Sequential Brands Group board when the SEC sent a complaint to the company in December 2020 regarding their accounting practices. She is also the second-largest shareholder in the company, reportedly owning 200,000 shares.
Four Sequential Brands Group directors left the company, including Stewart, John Dionne, Al Gosset, and Gary Johnson.
Stewart, as of today, is the only former director who sold stock in the company.
Due to her director seat, where she may have had insider knowledge about the company, selling stocks even if journalists were only speculating that Sequential Brands Group was in financial trouble would be improper.
As a firm’s director, if she acted upon insider knowledge based upon facts and not upon public speculation, it may likely be seen as wrong by the SEC.
Stewart did not continue to sell shares after her first two transactions.
Stewart was previously convicted of felony charges (conspiracy, obstruction & making false statements) in the infamous 2004 ImClone insider trading case.
The SEC reported Stewart received nonpublic information from her broker Peter Bacanovic that led her to avoid a $45,673 loss by selling off her shares of ImClone Systems.
The day after her successful sell-off of her 3,926 shares of the ImClone Systems Stock, the value of the stocks fell about sixteen percent. She was convicted and served a five-month term in a federal correctional facility, followed by two years of supervised release.
Stewart also was convicted as a tax evader and paid $220,000 in back taxes (including penalties) to the State of New York for her East Hampton mansion. At the time, Stewart claimed she had no idea that she had to pay taxes on a mansion she rarely visited.
