The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to actively investigate an insider trading incident involving two individuals. The investigation is conducted in conjunction with other regulatory bodies. Steven Teixeira, the chief compliance officer of a global payment processing firm, and Jordan Meadow, registered as a representative at a broker-dealer based in New York, have been charged by the SEC.
The latest complaint alleges that the pair had privileged access to confidential data, which they purportedly exploited to orchestrate acquisitions of public corporations and consequently, amass unlawful gains.
The SEC complaint suggests that Teixeira, in a time enhanced by work-from-home practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, managed to secure confidential information from his girlfriend’s laptop. Employed at a preeminent investment bank in New York, his girlfriend was privy to proprietary data about potential mergers and acquisitions of public corporations.
This complaint, now on file at Manhattan’s federal court, accuses both Teixeira, a resident of New York and Meadow, a resident of New Jersey, of violating Securities Exchange Act’s antifraud-related provisions. The charges specifically relate to the alleged breach of “the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5”. The SEC expressed their intention to seek “permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and bars on Meadow and Teixeira from holding officers or directors positions in public companies.”
SEC Accuses Pair of Accruing Unlawful Profits Through Insider Trading
The complaint suggests that Teixeira was allegedly able to harness nonpublic intel to “buy call options on a number of issuers preceding their deal announcements“. Additionally, it is alleged that he passed this information to his acquaintances, including Meadow, enabling them to exploit it as well.
The allegations suggest a monetary gain for Teixeira amounting to roughly $28,600, while Meadow is accused of reaping over $730,000 from illegitimate gains. Allegedly, Meadow circulated the information among his brokerage contacts which purportedly resulted in millions in illegitimate profit. He is also alleged to have gained financially from the transactions through commissions.
The investigation into the alleged cases of insider trading is presently ongoing. It remains essential to state that until firmly proven, both Meadow and Teixeira maintain their innocence.
