In July 2015, I noted here that Scott London -- the former KPMG partner who pleaded guilty to insider trading in June 2013 and was sentenced to serve 14 months in prison in April 2014 -- was about serve out the rest of his sentence in home detention. The U.S. Attorney's criminal complaint against London, you may also recall, included a remarkable photo taken by undercover FBI agents of London standing in a parking lot accepting an envelope stuffed with cash. Prosecutors charged London with taking the cash in exchange for providing a friend with inside information he had access to due to his employment at KPMG. 

Today, NPR's Planet Money posted an interesting interview with London in which NPR's Jacob Goldstein asked London about the photo, his insider trading ordeal, and why London -- a successful audit partner who earned over $500,000/year -- agreed to become involved in the insider trading scheme at all. London explained that his friend, Bryan Shaw, who was in the jewelry business, had hit hard times after the financial crisis and asked London to send him "some information about things like profits and mergers before the rest of the world knows about it. Then I'll trade on it, make some easy money and kick some of it back to you."

London said he knew the scheme was wrong and stupid but did it any way to help a "good friend." London said the envelope in the famous photo contained five thousand in cash, all in $100 bills, that he ended up putting "in my underwear drawer in my closet."

 

You can listen to the audio of the full interview with London below here.

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