UPDATE 1-US SEC charges three Fla. doctors in trading case

(Adds details of the case)

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday it charged three Florida doctors with illegal insider trading, including a board member at pharmaceutical company IVAX Corp.

The SEC said Zachariah P. Zachariah, an IVAX board member, began illegally trading in the company's securities only minutes after he learned that IVAX might be acquired.

The agency also charged Zachariah, his brother, Mammen Zachariah, and his friend, Sheldon Nassberg, with engaging in illegal insider trading in the stock of an unrelated company, Correctional Services Corp, around the same time as the IVAX trading.

IVAX has since been acquired by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research), and Correctional Services has been acquired by GEO Group Inc (GEO.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

The SEC said it is seeking disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and civil monetary penalties against the defendants.

The agency said Zachariah Zachariah learned of the potential IVAX acquisition on July 6, 2005, and within minutes placed the first of four separate IVAX stock purchase orders in his online brokerage account that day.

He bought 35,000 IVAX shares for about $730,000, the SEC said.