Despite the plethora of often complex judicial opinions the basic offense has remained the same: a corporate insider with confidential, material, non-public information that belongs to the firm converts it to his or her personal use either trading for their own account or furnishing the information to a relative or friend who trades and obtains the profits.
In advance of each milestone Defendant Shen traded profitably during a company blackout period. The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former Equifax manager with insider trading in advance of the company’s September 2017 announcement of a massive data breach that exposed Social Security numbers and other personal information of approximately 148 million U.S. customers. Insider trading has long been a key focus of the Commission as well as the DOJ. The complaint alleges violations of Exchange Act Section 10(b). The litigation is being led by Shawn Murnahan and Graham Loomis. In a complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta today, the SEC charged that Equifax software engineering manager Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu traded on confidential information he received while creating a website for consumers impacted by a data breach.
Mr. Shen resolved the matter, consenting to the entry of a permanent injunction based on the section cited in the complaint. The most common cases of insider trading involve someone on the inside of corporation who makes an investment decision — or encourages others to — based on private information that he or she about that company. Over the years the courts have developed, refined, defined and re-defined the elements. Over the years the courts have developed, refined, defined and re-defined the elements. T. Gorman Posted on July 10, 2018 Posted in SECActions. Two new cases filed by the Commission and one jury verdict in a criminal case illustrate the point. Home › SECActions › Three Insider Trading Cases. Bonthu, 44, was terminated from Equifax in March after refusing to cooperate with an internal investigation into whether he had violated the company’s insider trading policy.“As we allege, Bonthu, who was entrusted with confidential information by his employer, misused that information to conclude that his company had suffered a massive data breach and then sought to illegally profit,” said Richard R. Best, Director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office.
2018-115 Washington D.C., June 28, 2018 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former Equifax manager with insider trading in advance of the company’s September 2017 announcement of a massive data breach that exposed Social Security numbers and other personal information of approximately 148 million U.S. customers.
Civil insider trading cases in 2018 did not yield significant changes in the law. Over the period she frequently expressed concern regarding her financial security.
The settlement is subject to court approval. The case is pending. Washington D.C., June 28, 2018 — The complaint alleges violations of Exchange Act section 10(b). Mr. Carr, as the deal negotiations progressed, periodically discussed the progress with her. He also agreed to pay disgorgement of $40,622, prejudgment interest of $4,228 and a penalty of $88,192. A relative he tipped had gains of about $1,360. Ms. Hanratty purchased the shares.
As has been the growing trend over the past few years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) chose to bring the overwhelming proportion of its insider trading enforcement cases as either settled matters or actions filed in parallel with a criminal matter. Not Mr. Carr was deeply involved in the negotiations which resulted in the acquisition of his company by Global from October through the announcement date in December 2015. Two recent insider trading cases involving internal counsel, one on each side of the border, serve as a reminder of the high standards to which regulators hold internal counsel, and the importance of robust insider trading policies. “Corporate insiders simply cannot abuse their access to sensitive information and illegally enrich themselves.”In a parallel proceeding, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia filed criminal charges against Bonthu.To settle the SEC’s civil charges, Bonthu has agreed to a permanent injunction and to return his allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest.
The SEC alleges that Bonthu violated company policy when he traded on the non-public information by purchasing Equifax put options. Explaining the Insider Trading Case Against Mychal Kendricks. Insider trading has long been a key focus of the Commission as well as the DOJ.
The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. In some cases, the goal of insider trading is to make a lot of money. The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Elizabeth Skola and Justin Jeffries. During that period he had a romantic relationship with Ms. Hanratty. Three Insider Trading Cases . In both of these cases, the internal counsel were regularly given access to material non-public information (MNPI) as part of their roles. What the linebacker did, what prosecutors might have planned for him and how it might affect his future as an NFL player.
Less than a week later, after Equifax publicly announced the data breach and its stock declined nearly 14 percent, Bonthu sold the put options and netted more than $75,000, a return of more than 3,500 percent on his initial investment. According to the complaint, Bonthu was told the work was being done for an unnamed potential client, but based on information he received, he concluded that Equifax itself was the victim of the breach. Overall he had trading profits in excess of $40,000. Following the deal announcement she had profits of over $250,000.