SEC v. Jordan Qsar; Grant Witherspoon; Austin Bernard; and Chase Lambert, No. LR-25956, Southern District of California (Mar. 26, 2024) — Press Release
raw: Jordan Qsar, Grant Witherspoon, Austin Bernard, and Chase Lambert
Jordan Qsar, Grant Witherspoon, Austin Bernard, and Chase Lambert, No. 3:24-cv-00570 (Mar. 26, 2024)
summary
The SEC charged minor league baseball players Jordan Qsar, Grant Witherspoon, Austin Bernard, and Chase Lambert with insider trading for $189,000 in profits related to the Jack in the Box acquisition of Del Taco.
paragraph
The SEC charged four minor league baseball players with insider trading for leveraging non-public information regarding Jack in the Box Inc.’s acquisition of Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. The defendants generated approximately $189,000 in illegal profits through the strategic purchase of call options. They face charges for violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, with the SEC seeking injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties.
narrative
The SEC filed insider trading charges against Jordan Qsar, Grant Witherspoon, Austin Bernard, and Chase Lambert following the 2021 acquisition of Del Taco by Jack in the Box. The scheme began when a Jack in the Box finance employee shared confidential acquisition details with Qsar, who then tipped his teammates. Collectively, the four players earned approximately $189,000 in profits, with individual gains ranging from $25,100 for Lambert to $64,700 for Bernard. The defendants utilized call options to capitalize on the impending announcement. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of profits plus interest, and civil penalties for violations of the Securities Exchange Act. This enforcement action was driven by the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center.
Classified insider-trading(confidence 99%). EDGAR detection: forms 4/3/5/144· recall 81% / precision 19%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionJordan QsarChase LambertGrant WitherspoonAustin Bernard
Keywords
minor leaguemade aboutqsarsecjordan qsargrant witherspoonaustin bernardchase lambertsecurities exchangemarket abuseabuse unitwitherspoonbernardlambertabout
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 5
- $189K $189,000 $100K–$1M
- $65K $64,700 $10K–$100K
- $57K $56,500 $10K–$100K
- $43K $42,800 $10K–$100K
- $25K $25,100 $10K–$100K
Entities 7
- person austin bernard
- person chase lambert
- person del taco call options
- person grant witherspoon
- person jordan qsar
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- person using nonpublic information
Triples 14
- Securities And Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against one current and three former minor league baseball players
- Finance employee at Jack In The Box shared information about the acquisition with Jordan Qsar
- Jordan Qsar purchased Del Taco call options using nonpublic information
- Jordan Qsar tipped Grant Witherspoon, Austin Bernard, and Chase Lambert
- Grant Witherspoon purchased Del Taco call options
- Austin Bernard purchased Del Taco call options
- Chase Lambert purchased Del Taco call options
- Jordan Qsar made about $56,500 in illegal trading profits
- Grant Witherspoon made about $42,800 in illegal trading profits
- Austin Bernard made about $64,700 in illegal trading profits
- Chase Lambert made about $25,100 in illegal trading profits
- Securities And Exchange Commission charges Qsar, Witherspoon, Bernard, and Lambert with violating Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5
- Securities And Exchange Commission seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all four defendants
- Securities And Exchange Commission appreciates assistance from U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,515c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25956 / March 26, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jordan Qsar, Grant Witherspoon, Austin Bernard, and Chase Lambert, No. 3:24-cv-00570 AJB BLM (S.D. Cal. filed Mar. 26, 2024) SEC Charges One Current, Three Former Minor League Baseball Players with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges today against one current and three former minor league baseball players who made about $189,000 in profits from trading in advance of the December 6, 2021 announcement that Jack in the Box Inc. would acquire Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in San Diego, a finance employee at Jack in the Box, who is not charged, shared information about the acquisition with his friend and then minor league baseball player, Jordan Qsar. The complaint alleges that the finance employee expected Qsar to keep the information confidential, but instead, Qsar purchased Del Taco call options and tipped others, including his teammate at the time and current minor league player, Grant Witherspoon, former teammate and then minor league player, Austin Bernard, and former teammate and friend, Chase Lambert, all of whom purchased similar call options. The SEC alleges that Qsar made about $56,500, Witherspoon made about $42,800, Bernard made about $64,700, and Lambert made about $25,100 in illegal trading profits. The case originated from the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns. The SEC’s complaint charges Qsar, Witherspoon, Bernard, and Lambert with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all four defendants. The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Sara Kalin of the Market Abuse Unit, with assistance from John Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center. The case is being supervised by Assistant Regional Director Diana Tani and Market Abuse Unit Chief Joseph Sansone. The litigation will be led by Charles Canter of the Los Angeles Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Sec Complaint
OCR text (2,515c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25956 / March 26, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jordan Qsar, Grant Witherspoon, Austin Bernard, and Chase Lambert, No. 3:24-cv-00570 AJB BLM (S.D. Cal. filed Mar. 26, 2024) SEC Charges One Current, Three Former Minor League Baseball Players with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges today against one current and three former minor league baseball players who made about $189,000 in profits from trading in advance of the December 6, 2021 announcement that Jack in the Box Inc. would acquire Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in San Diego, a finance employee at Jack in the Box, who is not charged, shared information about the acquisition with his friend and then minor league baseball player, Jordan Qsar. The complaint alleges that the finance employee expected Qsar to keep the information confidential, but instead, Qsar purchased Del Taco call options and tipped others, including his teammate at the time and current minor league player, Grant Witherspoon, former teammate and then minor league player, Austin Bernard, and former teammate and friend, Chase Lambert, all of whom purchased similar call options. The SEC alleges that Qsar made about $56,500, Witherspoon made about $42,800, Bernard made about $64,700, and Lambert made about $25,100 in illegal trading profits. The case originated from the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns. The SEC’s complaint charges Qsar, Witherspoon, Bernard, and Lambert with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all four defendants. The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Sara Kalin of the Market Abuse Unit, with assistance from John Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center. The case is being supervised by Assistant Regional Director Diana Tani and Market Abuse Unit Chief Joseph Sansone. The litigation will be led by Charles Canter of the Los Angeles Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Sec Complaint