On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges in Manhattan against two men it said made $47 million in illicit gains by trading ahead of their clients to make a profit, a practice called front running.

The SEC charged Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams, both employed by financial services firms, with perpetrating a multiyear front-running scheme that generated at least $47 million in illegal trading profits.

Billimek has worked for the financial services firm TIAA-CREF since 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile.

According to the SEC, Billimek, 51, of Hailey, Idaho and employed by fund firm Nuveen, was arrested in Texas and day trader Alan Williams, 77, of West Linn, Oregon, was arrested there.

“Since at least September 2016, Billimek would inform Williams of the asset management firm’s market-moving trades prior to their execution. As the complaint alleges, on the same day, Williams would trade in the same securities prior to Billimek’s employer or while the employer was placing multiple large orders. Williams would close his positions after the price of the security moved as expected,” according to the regulators.

The SEC used its s Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) database to uncover William’s alleged fraud and to identify how he profited.

“Billimek allegedly took advantage of his position and abused his employer’s trust by providing Williams with proprietary information that allowed them to gain a trading advantage and pocket tens of millions of dollars in profits,” said Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit. 

Williams used two brokerage accounts over which he exercised control to place trades based on the material nonpublic information he received from Billimek. 

In a separate action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Wednesday filed criminal charges against the duo.

The SEC’s complaint charges Billimek and Williams with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest, penalties, and injunctive relief.