The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged 21 individuals in a civil complaint alleging a multi-year insider trading scheme that used material nonpublic information misappropriated from multiple global law firms working on pending corporate transactions. The SEC alleges the scheme ran from 2018 to 2024, involved trading ahead of more than a dozen deals in U.S. companies, and generated millions of dollars in illicit profits. According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Los Angeles-based mergers and acquisitions lawyer Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov orchestrated the scheme, with Nourafchan and another corporate lawyer, Gabriel Gershowitz, allegedly sourcing confidential deal information from their law firm employers and tipping a chain of traders who shared profits back up the network. The complaint points to trading around transactions including Momenta Pharmaceuticals, SailPoint Technologies, iRobot, Momentive Global, and Enstar Group, and also alleges profitable trading ahead of at least seven other announced deals. The SEC charged the defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and, for certain defendants, tender offer-related provisions under Section 14(e) and Rule 14e-3. It is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced criminal charges against all defendants.
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission 2026-05-06
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges 21 individuals in alleged insider trading scheme tied to global law firms and millions in illicit profits
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint charging 21 individuals in an alleged 2018–2024 insider trading scheme that used material nonpublic information from multiple global law firms to trade ahead of more than a dozen U.S. corporate transactions, generating millions in illicit profits. The SEC alleges Los Angeles M&A lawyer Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov orchestrated the scheme, with confidential deal information passed through a tipping chain of traders. The defendants are charged with violating antifraud and, for some, tender offer provisions, with the SEC seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement with interest, and civil penalties, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts bringing parallel criminal charges.