According to the Wall Street Journal, the FBI has launched an insider-trading investigation pertaining to gambling, finance and sports by a group of pretty well-known investors including Carl Icahn, Las Vegas Billy Walters and champion golfer Phil Mickelson.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining whether Mr. Mickelson and Mr. Walters traded illicitly on nonpublic information from Mr. Icahn about his investments in public companies, people briefed on the probe said.
The FBI and SEC are examining whether Mr. Walters on at least one occasion passed a tip on to Mr. Mickelson, these people said, and are studying the two men’s trading patterns.
Mickelson’s lawyer says his client isn’t being investigated by the FBI despite being approached by two FBI agents after the first round of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.
Mr. Walters, born in Kentucky to a family of professional poker players, is a legendary sports bettor who wagers based on computerized forecasts of the outcomes of games, among other factors. He has also become a force in the Las Vegas real-estate world and has bought and sold golf courses.
Mr. Walters and Mr. Mickelson, 43, play golf together, said people familiar with their relationship. Sometimes Mr. Walters has suggested stocks for Mr. Mickelson to consider buying, one of the people said.
