2025-01-14 sec-litreleases litigation_release 64 KB 2,502 chars

SEC v. Hari Prasad Sure; Lokesh Lagudu; Chotu Prabhu Tej Pulagam; Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula; Sai Mounika Nekkalapudi; Abhishek Dharmapurikar, et al., No. LR-26217, Northern District of California (Jan. 14, 2025) — Press Release

raw: Hari Prasad Sure, et al.

Hari Prasad Sure, et al., No. 4:22-cv-01967 (Jan. 14, 2025)

Caption
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sure
summary

Seven defendants, including Twilio software engineers, secured final judgments for an insider trading scheme that generated over $1 million in profits ahead of Twilio's 2020 earnings.

paragraph

The SEC obtained final judgments against seven defendants for insider trading involving Twilio Inc. material non-public information. The scheme generated over $1 million in illegal profits through the trading of Twilio options and stock. Defendants faced charges for violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5.

narrative

The SEC obtained final judgments against seven defendants, including Twilio software engineers Hari Prasad Sure, Lokesh Lagudu, and Chotu Prabhu Tej Pulagam, for an insider trading scheme. The group utilized material non-public information regarding Twilio’s customer usage to trade options and stock ahead of a May 2020 earnings announcement. This misconduct generated more than $1 million in illegal trading profits. All seven defendants were charged with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. The resolution includes permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits with interest for several defendants, and civil penalties. Notably, Hari Prasad Sure and Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula had previously pleaded guilty to parallel criminal securities fraud charges.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
insider-trading (99%)
Court
Northern District of California
Case No.
4:22-cv-01967
Outcome
pleaded
Victim loss
$1,000,000
Entity
Twilio Inc.
Ticker
TWLO
CIK
0001447669
Classified insider-trading(confidence 99%). EDGAR detection: forms 4/3/5/144· recall 81% / precision 19%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionHari Prasad SureDileep Kumar Reddy KamujulaSai Mounika NekkalapudiChetan Prabhu Sree Karteek PulagamUSAAbhishek DharmapurikarLokesh LaguduChotu Prabhu Tej Pulagam
Keywords
surehari prasadprasad suredharmapurikar chetansecpulagamsecurities exchangefinal judgmentsinsider tradinglagudu chotunekkalapudi dharmapurikarchetan pulagamtradingkamujulahari

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $1.00M $1 million $1M–$10M
Entities 6
  • scheme_term against seven defendants in insider trading case on january 9, 2025
  • person dileep kumar reddy kamujula
  • person hari prasad sure
  • scheme_term insider trading scheme
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • agency united states attorney's office for the northern district of california
Triples 8
  • Securities And Exchange Commission filed complaint against Hari Prasad Sure, Lokesh Lagudu, Chotu Prabhu Tej Pulagam, Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula, Sai Mounika Nekkalapudi, Abhishek Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Prabhu Sree Karteek Pulagam for insider trading in advance of Twilio's first quarter 2020 earnings announcement
  • Hari Prasad Sure, Lokesh Lagudu, Chotu Prabhu Tej Pulagam tipped off Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula, Sai Mounika Nekkalapudi, Abhishek Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Prabhu Sree Karteek Pulagam to trade Twilio options and stock using material non-public information about customer usage
  • Insider trading scheme generated more than $1 million in illegal trading profits
  • Securities And Exchange Commission charges all seven defendants with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
  • Hari Prasad Sure pled guilty to criminal charges for securities fraud in United States v. Sure, No. 4:23-cr-00254
  • Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula pled guilty to criminal charges for securities fraud in United States v. Kamujula, No. 4:22-cr-00131
  • United States Attorney's Office For The Northern District Of California brought parallel criminal actions against Hari Prasad Sure and Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula for securities fraud
  • Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final judgments against seven defendants in insider trading case on January 9, 2025
View original SEC litigation releasesec.gov
Extracted body text (2,502c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26217 / January 14, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Hari Prasad Sure, et al., No. 4:22-cv-01967 (N.D. Cal. filed Mar. 28, 2022) SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Seven Defendants in Insider Trading Case On January 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered final judgments against Hari Prasad Sure, Lokesh Lagudu, Chotu Prabhu Tej Pulagam, Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula, Sai Mounika Nekkalapudi, Abhishek Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Prabhu Sree Karteek Pulagam, resolving the SEC’s insider trading case filed against them. The SEC’s complaint, filed on March 28, 2022, alleges that Sure, Lagudu, and Chotu Pulagam, software engineers employed during the relevant time at Twilio Inc., a San Francisco-based cloud computing communications company, and four of their family members and friends engaged in insider trading in advance of Twilio’s positive first quarter 2020 earnings announcement. According to the complaint, the insider defendants knowingly tipped off Kamujula, Nekkalapudi, Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Pulagam to trade Twilio options and stock in advance of the May 6, 2020 announcement while in possession of material non-public information concerning customer usage. The complaint further alleges that the scheme generated more than $1 million in illegal trading profits. The SEC’s complaint charges all seven defendants with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The defendants consented to the entry of final judgments in the SEC action that provide for permanent injunctive relief from the provisions charged in the complaint; disgorgement of illegal trading profits plus prejudgment interest from Sure, Kamujula, Nekkalapudi, Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Pulagam; and civil penalties from Lagudu, Chotu Pulagam, Nekkalapudi, Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Pulagam. Defendants Sure and Kamujula had previously pled guilty to criminal charges for securities fraud in parallel criminal actions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, United States v. Sure, No. 4:23-cr-00254, and United States v. Kamujula, No. 4:22-cr-00131. The SEC’s litigation was conducted by Marc Katz and Erin E. Wilk of the San Francisco Regional Office, with assistance from Jan Jindra of the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The case was supervised by Jason H. Lee of the San Francisco Regional Office.
OCR text (2,502c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26217 / January 14, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Hari Prasad Sure, et al., No. 4:22-cv-01967 (N.D. Cal. filed Mar. 28, 2022) SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Seven Defendants in Insider Trading Case On January 9, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered final judgments against Hari Prasad Sure, Lokesh Lagudu, Chotu Prabhu Tej Pulagam, Dileep Kumar Reddy Kamujula, Sai Mounika Nekkalapudi, Abhishek Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Prabhu Sree Karteek Pulagam, resolving the SEC’s insider trading case filed against them. The SEC’s complaint, filed on March 28, 2022, alleges that Sure, Lagudu, and Chotu Pulagam, software engineers employed during the relevant time at Twilio Inc., a San Francisco-based cloud computing communications company, and four of their family members and friends engaged in insider trading in advance of Twilio’s positive first quarter 2020 earnings announcement. According to the complaint, the insider defendants knowingly tipped off Kamujula, Nekkalapudi, Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Pulagam to trade Twilio options and stock in advance of the May 6, 2020 announcement while in possession of material non-public information concerning customer usage. The complaint further alleges that the scheme generated more than $1 million in illegal trading profits. The SEC’s complaint charges all seven defendants with violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The defendants consented to the entry of final judgments in the SEC action that provide for permanent injunctive relief from the provisions charged in the complaint; disgorgement of illegal trading profits plus prejudgment interest from Sure, Kamujula, Nekkalapudi, Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Pulagam; and civil penalties from Lagudu, Chotu Pulagam, Nekkalapudi, Dharmapurikar, and Chetan Pulagam. Defendants Sure and Kamujula had previously pled guilty to criminal charges for securities fraud in parallel criminal actions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, United States v. Sure, No. 4:23-cr-00254, and United States v. Kamujula, No. 4:22-cr-00131. The SEC’s litigation was conducted by Marc Katz and Erin E. Wilk of the San Francisco Regional Office, with assistance from Jan Jindra of the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The case was supervised by Jason H. Lee of the San Francisco Regional Office.