Playboy heiress' husband fined for trading

The son-in-law of Playboy's famed founder Hugh Hefner agreed to pay nearly $169,000 to settle charges of illegally profiting from insider trading in Playboy stock, US officials said Wednesday.William Marovitz, the husband of Hefner's daughter and former Playboy chief executive Christie Hefner, carried out the illegal trades between 2004 and 2009, the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleged in a lawsuit.Marovitz made the trades despite both his wife and Playboy's lawyer warning him not to trade in the company's shares, the SEC said.The SEC accused Marovitz of earning about $101,000 by buying and selling stock before the release of major news about Playboy, which is best known for its flagship magazine featuring erotic photographs of naked female models.In one trade detailed in the SEC's lawsuit, Marovitz bought 9,000 shares of Playboy stock in November 2009 after learning that the company was in talks with Iconix, a brand management company, about a possible acquisition.When news broke about the acquisition talks, shares of Playboy rallied 42 percent. Later, when Iconix dropped its bid to acquire the company, Marovitz attempted to sell all of his Playboy stock before it plunged in value."Marovitz breached the fiduciary duties of trust and confidence which he owed to Hefner and Playboy by purchasing and selling Playboy securities on the basis of material, non-public information," the SEC said.Marovitz agreed to pay $168,352 in disgorged profits and fines to settle the lawsuit, the SEC said. The settlement is still subject to court approval.Marovitz's wife, Christie Hefner, was chief executive of Playboy from 1988 to 2009. Her father, Hugh Hefner, started Playboy magazine in 1953 with a debut issue that famously contained nude photos of Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe.