Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) disclosed today that he failed to report six stock trades beginning last April to the U.S. House of Representatives after a family trust didn’t notify him of the transactions until last Thursday.
With his siblings, Kean is the one-third beneficiary of a trust established by his father, former Gov. Thomas H. Kean, and has no control over which stocks are bought and sold.
“This week, the attorney charged with overseeing my Personal Transaction Reporting for the House shared with me that transactions from a family trust account, which I have no control over, were shared with him in an untimely fashion despite regular check-ins and confirmation of accurate reporting,” Kean said.
The Kean Family Partnership sold between $2,000 and $30,000 in stock in Fidelity National Information Services and Global Payments in April and May and purchased between $4,000 and $60,000 in Crown Holdings, Danaher Corporation, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, and Fidelity between April and July, according to Personal Transaction Reports (PTRs) filed with the Clerk of the House.
The Stock Act requires Members of Congress to report stock transactions within 30 days of notification or 45 days after the transaction. In his 2022 campaign Kean skewered Malinowski over alleged STOCK Act violations that landed him an investigation with the House Ethics Committee.
Earlier this year, Kean retained a law firm to help him comply with financial disclosure matters. His blind trust is awaiting approval from the House panel.
According to Stephen Roberts, Kean’s attorney, financial professionals who manage Kean’s trust were trained on reporting requirements under the Stock Act.
“I reminded them of the types of transactions that were reportable on a rolling 30-day basis and described to them the importance of timely alerting me to any transaction,” Roberts said in a letter to Kean provided to the New Jersey Globe.
Roberts said he was alerted on September 14 that six third-party transactions dating back to April were never reported to Kean or his staff.
“Importantly, I was routinely informed on a regular basis by these same professionals that there were no reportable transactions,” Roberts said.
After a full review of Kean’s reportable accounts, Roberts filed a new report on September 18.
“The attorney immediately took all appropriate steps to get that information up to date, and all reporting is now in good standing,” Kean said. “I am thankful to my attorney for swiftly addressing these issues, however, I am deeply disappointed in the team tasked with managing that account for failing to meet the high standards I set and am taking necessary steps to ensure this error is not repeated.”
Sue Altman, one of the three Democrats seeking to take on Kean next year, was sharply critical of the mistake.
“Before he was elected to Congress, Tom Kean Jr. was selling off hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pharmaceutical stocks at the height of the pandemic. Now that he’s in Congress, he’s neglecting to report trades altogether,” Altman said. “No matter what office he holds, for Tom Kean Jr., his bank account and trust fund will always be more important to him than working New Jerseyans.”
This story was updated at 3:29 PM with comment from Altman.