SEC Charges 21 Individuals with Alleged Wide-Reaching Insider Trading Scheme
The SEC charged 21 individuals, including attorneys Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov, for orchestrating a decade-long insider trading scheme (2018–2024) that misappropriated material nonpublic information from global law firms, generating millions in illicit profits through a multi-tiered tipping network, resulting in parallel civil and criminal charges and international regulatory cooperation.
The SEC charged 21 individuals, including Los Angeles-based M&A attorney Nicolo Nourafchan and Long Beach, NY-based Robert Yadgarov, for running a decade-long insider trading scheme between 2018 and 2024 that exploited confidential information from over twelve corporate transactions. Nourafchan allegedly misappropriated material nonpublic data from his clients and tipped Yadgarov and others, who traded on the information and shared profits, while a second corporate lawyer was recruited to further expand the tipping chain. The SEC seeks disgorgement with prejudgment interest and civil penalties for violations of federal antifraud securities laws, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed parallel criminal charges against all defendants.
The SEC charged 21 individuals, including attorneys Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov, for orchestrating a decade-long insider trading scheme that spanned from 2018 to 2024 and exploited material nonpublic information misappropriated from multiple global law firms. Nourafchan, a mergers and acquisitions attorney based in Los Angeles, allegedly stole confidential details on over twelve pending corporate transactions and shared them with Yadgarov and other participants, who executed trades and kicked back a portion of their illicit profits. The scheme expanded when another corporate lawyer was recruited to misappropriate additional insider information and feed it into the network, creating a multi-tiered tipping chain. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges violations of federal antifraud securities laws and seeks disgorgement with prejudgment interest and civil penalties. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts filed criminal charges against all 21 defendants. The investigation involved extensive international cooperation from financial regulators in Denmark, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Mauritius, and Switzerland, as well as domestic agencies including the FBI and FINRA. This case underscores the SEC’s focus on dismantling complex, cross-border insider trading networks and holding every participant accountable, regardless of their position in the tipping hierarchy.
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
- person action highlights commitment
- person criminal charges
- person global scheme
- scheme_term insider trading scheme
- person joseph g. sansone
- person material nonpublic information
- person nicolo nourafchan
- person robert yadgarov
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- Securities and Exchange Commission charged 21 individuals
- Securities and Exchange Commission alleged insider trading scheme
- Nicolo Nourafchan orchestrated global scheme
- Nicolo Nourafchan misappropriated material nonpublic information
- Robert Yadgarov tipped information
- Joseph G. Sansone said action highlights commitment
- SEC charges defendants
- U.S. Attorney’s Office announced criminal charges
- SEC appreciates assistance
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 21 individuals for their alleged involvement in a decade-long insider trading scheme that used information misappropriated from multiple global law firms and resulted in millions of dollars in illicit profits.According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2018 and 2024, Nicolo Nourafchan, a mergers and acquisitions attorney based in Los Angeles, California, orchestrated a global scheme with his partner Robert Yadgarov, of Long Beach, New York. The complaint alleges that Nourafchan misappropriated material nonpublic information from his firm’s clients pertaining to more than twelve pending corporate transactions. The complaint further alleges that he or Yadgarov tipped that information to other scheme participants who agreed to kick back a portion of their trading profits, or who, in turn, tipped others who traded.Nourafchan and Yadgarov allegedly recruited an additional corporate lawyer who also misappropriated material nonpublic information about additional deals and tipped that information to Nourafchan and Yadgarov.“Today’s action highlights the SEC’s unwavering commitment to uncovering sprawling schemes, like the one alleged here, and holding individuals up and down the tipping chain accountable for their fraudulent conduct,” said Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit.The SEC’s complaint, brought by the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit and filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, charges the defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks 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 of the defendants in this case.The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the FBI, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the Mauritius Financial Services Commission, and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 21 individuals for their alleged involvement in a decade-long insider trading scheme that used information misappropriated from multiple global law firms and resulted in millions of dollars in illicit profits.According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2018 and 2024, Nicolo Nourafchan, a mergers and acquisitions attorney based in Los Angeles, California, orchestrated a global scheme with his partner Robert Yadgarov, of Long Beach, New York. The complaint alleges that Nourafchan misappropriated material nonpublic information from his firm’s clients pertaining to more than twelve pending corporate transactions. The complaint further alleges that he or Yadgarov tipped that information to other scheme participants who agreed to kick back a portion of their trading profits, or who, in turn, tipped others who traded.Nourafchan and Yadgarov allegedly recruited an additional corporate lawyer who also misappropriated material nonpublic information about additional deals and tipped that information to Nourafchan and Yadgarov.“Today’s action highlights the SEC’s unwavering commitment to uncovering sprawling schemes, like the one alleged here, and holding individuals up and down the tipping chain accountable for their fraudulent conduct,” said Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit.The SEC’s complaint, brought by the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit and filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, charges the defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks 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 of the defendants in this case.The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the FBI, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the Mauritius Financial Services Commission, and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.