Former eBay executive sentenced for insider trading after tipping friend about upcoming merger

A former eBay executive has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in insider trading.

A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced 45-year-old Christopher Saridakis on Wednesday. Saridakis had pleaded guilty to securities fraud in May.

Saridakis, of Wilmington, Delaware, was a senior executive at GSI Commerce in March 2011 when it was about to be acquired by eBay Inc.

Saridakis acknowledged tipping off a friend by text message to buy GSI stock. The friend purchased 25,000 shares, and made more than $260,000 in profit when eBay bought GSI.

GSI Commerce became eBay Enterprise, and Saridakis served as president. He later resigned.