The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged a former senior attorney at Apple Inc. with insider trading.

Apple logo [File photo: IC]

Gene Daniel Levoff, an attorney who previously served as Apple's global head of corporate law and corporate secretary, was accused of using confidential information to unlawfully trade Apple securities ahead of the company's quarterly earnings announcements.

The SEC claimed that Levoff engaged in insider trading at least three times in 2015 and 2016, making approximately 382,000 U.S. dollars in combined profits and losses avoided.

"Levoff's alleged exploitation of his access to Apple's financial information was particularly egregious given his responsibility for implementing the company's insider trading compliance policy," Antonia Chion, associate director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.

Levoff had responsibility for ensuring employees complied with Apple's insider trading policies since at least 2010, and implemented an update of the procedures in 2015, according to the SEC's complaint.

Apple terminated Levoff's employment in September last year after placing him on leave two months earlier, the complaint showed.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey on Wednesday also announced criminal charges against Levoff with one count of securities fraud, which carries a potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of 5 million dollars.