The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission have charged two Canadian software engineers with taking part in an insider trading scheme.
The SEC issued a news release announcing the charges against Harpreet Saini and John Lester Natividad. The two Ontario residents made $1.6 million through trades by taking advantage of non-public information they had access to, according to the commission.
From at least May 2018 to July 2021, Saini and Natividad worked for a newswire distribution company that specialized in corporate press releases. According to the SEC, their positions with the firm allowed them to preview the headlines, times and publication dates of upcoming announcements. The two defendants allegedly traded in advance of over 1,600 of those announcements and then exited their positions after the stock market reacted to the news releases.
“As alleged in our complaint, Saini and Natividad engaged in an insider trading scheme, which spanned several years, to enrich themselves at the expense of others, and brazenly bragged about it via text message with each another,” said Michele Wein Layne, Regional Director of the Los Angeles Regional Office.
Saini and Natividad were charged by the SEC with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Ontario Securities Commission said the two were charged with fraud and insider trading offenses under the Ontario Securities Act.
Lewitas Hyman routinely represents investors harmed when financial professionals and their firms engaged in misconduct that caused their clients investment losses. Our team includes lawyers who have worked for large financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley and UBS Financial Services, and regulatory bodies such as the SEC. If you think your financial professional or firm engaged in misconduct that caused you investment losses, contact Lewitas Hyman at (888) 655-6002 or through our online contact form for a no-cost evaluation of your matter.
