A rogue trader has admitted buying $1 billion in Apple stock without permission - and watching as his scheme to make millions fell apart and brought down the company.
Former Rochdale Securities trader David Miller admitted wire fraud and conspiracy on Monday, and now faces up to 25 years in prison.
According to Reuters that is likely to be closer to 5-8 years when Miller is sentenced in July, following a plea bargain.
"What happened here was out of character for a kind and generous family man who has lived an otherwise law-abiding and good life," Miller's lawyer Kenneth Murphy said. "He deeply regrets what he has done and the harm it has caused to other people, including the former principals and employees at Rochdale."
Prosecutors say that Miller bought 1.625 million shares in Apple on October 25, 2012.
But instead of reporting the trade he said that he had only bought 1,625 shares in the company.
The purchase was made on the same day that Apple was to announce its third quarter results - and Miller's bet was that the stock would rise.
It is alleged that he conspired to claim "human error" if the trade backfired, and take the profits for himself and another person if it worked.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission said his plan was "deliberate, brazen and ultimately ill-conceived".
And when Apple's stock fell Miller left the company down $5.3 million, while defrauding another brokerage in the process.
Rochdale is not accused of wrong doing and was not a defendant in either case.