The butler did it, SEC says in insider trading case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After sifting through clues involving Elvis Presley, entertainment insiders, and poolside faxes of secret business deals, U.S. securities regulators decided the butler did it.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Monday that it had settled insider trading charges against Graham Lefford, formerly employed as a butler by entertainment industry entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman.

The SEC said Lefford, who managed Sillerman's residence in the upscale Long Island beach community of South Hampton, agreed to pay $66,180 to settle the charges.

According to the SEC's complaint, Lefford intercepted faxes about Sillerman's intent to acquire a controlling interest in a publicly traded company, Sports Entertainment Enterprises Inc., and use it as a vehicle for acquiring the commercial rights to Elvis Presley's name and likeness.

Lefford found out about Sillerman's intentions from several deal-related documents that were faxed between Sillerman's Manhattan office and his South Hampton residence during the summer of 2004, the SEC said.

On August 12, 2004, within minutes of faxing Sillerman's signed authorization of the Sports Entertainment acquisition back to Sillerman's office, Lefford bought 5,000 shares of Sports Entertainment at 12 cents per share, the agency said.

"There were a number of circumstantial facts that we felt gave rise to strong proof of intent," said George Stepaniuk, an assistant regional director in the SEC's New York office.

The Sports Entertainment stock shot up to $6.41 per share, an increase of 6,400 percent from the previous day, after the Presley rights deal was announced on December 16, 2004.

Lefford settled with the SEC without admitting or denying the charges.

An attorney contact for Lefford could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski)