SEC Press press_release 66 KB 2,599 chars

Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov orchestrated a multi-year insider trading scheme from 2018 to 2024 by misappropriating material nonpublic information f…

raw: Nicolo Nourafchan; Robert Yadgarov; Mark Alperin; Miakel Bishay; David Bratslavsky; Brian Fensterszaub; Mark Fensterszaub; Simon Fensterszaub; Gabriel Gershowitz; Fernando Grinberg; Boruch Hatanian; Yisroel Horowitz; Joseph Izsak; Daniel Kavian; Eliyahu Kavian; Nowel Milik; Lorenzo Nourafchan; David Ostrov; Gavryel Silverstein; Joseph Suskind; and Seth Winslow

Source JSON
summary

Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov orchestrated a multi-year insider trading scheme from 2018 to 2024 by misappropriating material nonpublic information from global law firms and tipping 19 others, generating millions in illicit profits, leading to SEC civil charges and parallel criminal charges by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

paragraph

The SEC charged 21 individuals, including attorney Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov, with violating federal antifraud securities laws in a wide-reaching insider trading scheme that operated from 2018 to 2024. Nourafchan, while employed at a law firm, misappropriated confidential details about at least a dozen corporate transactions and shared them with Yadgarov and a network of traders who traded on the information and shared profits, yielding millions in illicit gains; a second corporate lawyer was recruited to provide additional inside information. The SEC seeks disgorgement with prejudgment interest and civil penalties, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed parallel criminal charges against all defendants, following an investigation led by the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit using advanced data analytics and international cooperation.

narrative

Between 2018 and 2024, attorney Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov orchestrated a sophisticated insider trading scheme by misappropriating material nonpublic information about at least a dozen impending corporate transactions from their law firm employer and other global law firms. Nourafchan directly tipped Yadgarov and others, who traded on the information and agreed to kick back a portion of their profits, while some recipients further disseminated the tips, creating a cascading network of 21 individuals involved in the conspiracy. The scheme generated millions of dollars in illicit trading profits, detected through the SEC Market Abuse Unit’s data analysis tools that identified suspicious trading patterns linked to confidential deal information. The SEC filed civil charges in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, seeking disgorgement with prejudgment interest and civil penalties for violations of federal antifraud securities laws. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts brought criminal charges against all 21 defendants. The investigation involved extensive international collaboration with financial regulators from Denmark, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Mauritius, and Switzerland, reflecting the global scope of the law firms and trading activity. The SEC’s Enforcement Division, led by David Bennett, David Snyder, and John Rymas, with litigation oversight by Rua Kelly and Martin Healey, credited FINRA, the FBI, and foreign authorities for critical support in uncovering and prosecuting the scheme.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
insider-trading (100%)
Court
District of Massachusetts
Classified insider-trading(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms 4/3/5/144· recall 81% / precision 19%. detection rule →
Statutes
15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionNICOLO NOURAFCHAN
Keywords
nourafchannicolo nourafchansecurities exchangesecdavidfensterszaubrobert yadgarovexchange commissionyadgarovjosephsecuritiesinformationwhonicolomark

Extracted insights

Entities 20
  • agency assistance of the cyprus securities and exchange commission
  • agency assistance of the federal bureau of investigation
  • agency assistance of the financial industry regulatory authority (finra)
  • person civil penalties
  • person criminal charges
  • person data analysis tools
  • person david bennett
  • person david snyder
  • person Diana Tani
  • person injunctive relief
  • person John Rymas
  • person joseph g. sansone
  • person martin healey
  • person material nonpublic information
  • person matthew koop
  • person nicolo nourafchan
  • agency sec market abuse unit’s analysis and detection center
  • agency sec’s complaint
  • agency sec’s investigation
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
Triples 28
  • Securities and Exchange Commission Charges 21 Individuals
  • Nicolo Nourafchan Misappropriated Material Nonpublic Information
  • Nourafchan Tipped Information
  • Nourafchan Recruited Another Corporate Lawyer
  • Another Corporate Lawyer Misappropriated Material Nonpublic Information
  • Another Corporate Lawyer Tipped Information
  • SEC Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center Uses Data Analysis Tools
  • SEC’s complaint Charges Defendants
  • SEC’s complaint Seeks Injunctive Relief
  • SEC’s complaint Seeks Disgorgement with Prejudgment Interest
  • SEC’s complaint Seeks Civil Penalties
  • U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts Announced Criminal Charges
  • SEC’s investigation Conducted By David Bennett
  • SEC’s investigation Conducted By David Snyder
  • SEC’s investigation Conducted By John Rymas
  • SEC’s investigation Assisted By Matthew Koop
  • SEC’s investigation Supervised By Diana Tani
  • SEC’s investigation Supervised By Joseph G. Sansone
  • Litigation Led By Senior Trial Counsel Rua Kelly
  • Litigation Supervised By Martin Healey
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the Mauritius Financial Services Commission
  • SEC Appreciates Assistance of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
View original SEC press releasesec.gov
Extracted body text (2,599c) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26551 / May 7, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Nicolo Nourafchan, et al., No. 26-civ-12068 (D. Mass. filed May 6, 2026)SEC Charges 21 Individuals with Alleged Wide-Reaching Insider Trading SchemeOn May 6, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against 21 individuals for their alleged involvement in an insider trading scheme that used information misappropriated from multiple global law firms and netted scheme participants millions of dollars in illicit profits.According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2018 and 2024, Nicolo Nourafchan, an attorney who worked on mergers and acquisitions, and Robert Yadgarov orchestrated the scheme. Nourafchan misappropriated material nonpublic information about at least a dozen impending corporate transactions from his law firm employer, and he or Yadgarov tipped that information to others who agreed to kick back a portion of their trading profits or who, in turn, tipped others who traded, according to the complaint. Nourafchan and Yadgarov also allegedly recruited another corporate lawyer who misappropriated material nonpublic information about additional deals and tipped that information to them.The case originated from the SEC Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns.The SEC’s complaint, 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 the defendants in this case.The SEC’s investigation was conducted by David Bennett, David Snyder, and John Rymas with assistance from Matthew Koop and supervised by Diana Tani and Joseph G. Sansone, all of the Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit. The litigation will be led by Senior Trial Counsel Rua Kelly and supervised by Martin Healey of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), 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.
OCR text (2,599c · plain-text · 99% conf) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26551 / May 7, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Nicolo Nourafchan, et al., No. 26-civ-12068 (D. Mass. filed May 6, 2026)SEC Charges 21 Individuals with Alleged Wide-Reaching Insider Trading SchemeOn May 6, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against 21 individuals for their alleged involvement in an insider trading scheme that used information misappropriated from multiple global law firms and netted scheme participants millions of dollars in illicit profits.According to the SEC’s complaint, between 2018 and 2024, Nicolo Nourafchan, an attorney who worked on mergers and acquisitions, and Robert Yadgarov orchestrated the scheme. Nourafchan misappropriated material nonpublic information about at least a dozen impending corporate transactions from his law firm employer, and he or Yadgarov tipped that information to others who agreed to kick back a portion of their trading profits or who, in turn, tipped others who traded, according to the complaint. Nourafchan and Yadgarov also allegedly recruited another corporate lawyer who misappropriated material nonpublic information about additional deals and tipped that information to them.The case originated from the SEC Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns.The SEC’s complaint, 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 the defendants in this case.The SEC’s investigation was conducted by David Bennett, David Snyder, and John Rymas with assistance from Matthew Koop and supervised by Diana Tani and Joseph G. Sansone, all of the Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit. The litigation will be led by Senior Trial Counsel Rua Kelly and supervised by Martin Healey of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), 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.