Two face insider trading charges over Penn's acquisition of theScore

[The Buzz]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two people with insider trading related to Penn National Gaming's acquisition of theScore, back in October of 2021. Jordan Meadow, a representative for a broker dealer based in New York, and Steven Teixeira, chief compliance officer for a payment processing company, were the men charged in the case, which claims that Teixeira "accessed nonpublic information" from the laptop of his girlfriend.

From the SEC:

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Teixeira accessed nonpublic information on possible upcoming mergers and acquisitions of public companies from the laptop of his girlfriend, who was employed at a prominent New York-based investment bank. As alleged, Teixeira then used the information to purchase call options on several issuers ahead of the announcement of the deals and tipped the information to his friends, including Meadow, so that they could trade as well.

The scheme allegedly generated illicit profits of approximately $28,600 for Teixeira, while Meadow made more than $730,000. Additionally, according to the complaint, Meadow recommended trades to his brokerage customers based on the material nonpublic information from Teixeira, resulting in millions of dollars in profits for them and hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions for Meadow.

“Our complaint alleges brazen betrayals of trust by Teixeira, who misappropriated information from his girlfriend’s laptop to make a quick buck, and by industry-veteran Meadow, who was all too eager to use the information to line his pockets,” said Scott Thompson, the Associate Regional Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “We will continue to pursue and prosecute insider trading where appropriate to hold people accountable for their actions.”

Read the press release here: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litre...23/lr25765.htm