2024-12-30 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,726 chars

SEC v. Cameron Durrant; Dale B. Chappell; Black Horse Capital LP; Black Horse Capital Master Fund Ltd.; and Cheval Holdings, Ltd., No. LR-26206, District of New Jersey (Dec. 30, 2024) — Press Release

raw: Dale B. Chappell, et al.

Dale B. Chappell, et al., No. LR-26206 (D.N.J. Dec. 30, 2024)

Caption
SEC v. Cameron Durrant, et al.
summary

Humanigen CEO Dale B. Chappell and CSO Cameron Durrant face SEC insider trading charges for selling stock ahead of a major FDA denial, seeking to avoid combined losses of nearly $40 million.

paragraph

The SEC charged Humanigen executives Dale B. Chappell and Cameron Durrant with insider trading for selling shares ahead of an FDA denial for the company's COVID-19 drug, lenzilumab. Chappell and his investment vehicles sold over $68 million in stock to avoid $38 million in losses, while Durrant sold $1.68 million to avoid $1 million in losses. The defendants face antifraud charges under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

narrative

The SEC has charged Humanigen CEO Dale B. Chappell and CSO Cameron Durrant with insider trading for selling stock while possessing material nonpublic information regarding the likely denial of FDA authorization for the drug lenzilumab. Between June and August 2021, Chappell and three controlled investment vehicles sold over $68 million in shares to avoid $38 million in losses, while Durrant sold over $1.68 million to avoid $1 million in losses. This selling preceded a September 2021 announcement that caused the company's stock price to plummet by nearly 50 percent. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement, civil penalties, and officer and director bars. Additionally, Chappell faces parallel criminal charges from the Department of Justice. The litigation involves violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
insider-trading (99%)
Court
District of New Jersey
Victim loss
$68,000,000
Entity
Humanigen, Inc.
Ticker
HGEN
CIK
0001293310
Classified insider-trading(confidence 99%). EDGAR detection: forms 4/3/5/144· recall 81% / precision 19%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionCameron DurrantDale B. ChappellBlack Horse Capital LPBlack Horse Capital Master Fund Ltd.Cheval Holdings, Ltd.
Keywords
chappelldale chappellsecurities exchangesechumanigendurrantexchange commissioninsider tradingsecuritiesmilliondaleexchangetradingnewchief scientific

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 4
  • $68.00M $68 million $10M–$100M
  • $38.00M $38 million $10M–$100M
  • $1.68M $1.68 million $1M–$10M
  • $1.00M $1 million $1M–$10M
Entities 6
  • person cameron durrant
  • scheme_term cameron durrant and dale b. chappell with insider trading
  • person dale b. chappell
  • scheme_term losses of more than $1 million through insider trading
  • scheme_term losses of more than $38 million through insider trading
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
Triples 11
  • Securities And Exchange Commission charges Cameron Durrant and Dale B. Chappell with insider trading
  • Dale B. Chappell and Cameron Durrant sold Humanigen stock while in possession of material nonpublic information about FDA denial of EUA for lenzilumab
  • Dale B. Chappell sold more than 3.8 million shares of Humanigen for more than $68 million
  • Cameron Durrant sold more than 80,000 shares of Humanigen for more than $1.68 million
  • Humanigen announced FDA denial of EUA for lenzilumab on September 9, 2021
  • Humanigen experienced nearly 50 percent stock price drop after FDA denial of EUA for lenzilumab
  • Dale B. Chappell avoided losses of more than $38 million through insider trading
  • Cameron Durrant avoided losses of more than $1 million through insider trading
  • Securities And Exchange Commission charges Durrant, Chappell, Black Horse Capital LP, Black Horse Capital Master Fund Ltd., and Cheval Holdings, Ltd. with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5
  • Department Of Justice's Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced unsealed criminal charges against Dale B. Chappell on December 23, 2024
  • Securities And Exchange Commission appreciates assistance from U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, and Federal Bureau of Investigation
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,726c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26206 / December 30, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dale B. Chappell, et al., No. 23-civ-03769 (D.N.J. second amended complaint filed May 20, 2024) SEC Charges Humanigen’s CEO and Chief Scientific Officer with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Cameron Durrant and Dale B. Chappell, the CEO and Chief Scientific Officer, respectively, of New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company Humanigen, Inc. According to the SEC’s complaint, between June and August 2021, Chappell and Durrant sold Humanigen stock while in possession of material nonpublic information that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was unlikely to approve Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Humanigen’s newly developed COVID-19 drug, lenzilumab. The SEC alleges that Chappell and three investment vehicles under his control sold more than 3.8 million shares of Humanigen for more than $68 million, including through Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, and Durrant sold more than 80,000 shares for more than $1.68 million. When Humanigen announced that the FDA had denied EUA for lenzilumab on September 9, 2021, Humanigen’s stock price dropped by nearly 50 percent. The SEC alleges that, as a result of their insider trading, Chappell avoided losses of more than $38 million while Durrant avoided losses of more than $1 million. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, charges Durrant, Chappell, and three investment vehicles under Chappell’s control—Black Horse Capital LP, Black Horse Capital Master Fund Ltd., and Cheval Holdings, Ltd.— with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and officer and director bars against Durrant and Chappell. On December 23, 2024, in a parallel action, the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced unsealed criminal charges against Chappell. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by W. Bradley Ney, Daniel Ball, George B. Parizek, Kevin Wu, and Zachary Scrima under the supervision of Melissa Robertson and Pei Y. Chung. The litigation is being handled by Anna Area, Daniel Lloyd, and Daniel Ball, and supervised by David Nasse. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Criminal Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
OCR text (2,726c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26206 / December 30, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dale B. Chappell, et al., No. 23-civ-03769 (D.N.J. second amended complaint filed May 20, 2024) SEC Charges Humanigen’s CEO and Chief Scientific Officer with Insider Trading The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Cameron Durrant and Dale B. Chappell, the CEO and Chief Scientific Officer, respectively, of New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company Humanigen, Inc. According to the SEC’s complaint, between June and August 2021, Chappell and Durrant sold Humanigen stock while in possession of material nonpublic information that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was unlikely to approve Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Humanigen’s newly developed COVID-19 drug, lenzilumab. The SEC alleges that Chappell and three investment vehicles under his control sold more than 3.8 million shares of Humanigen for more than $68 million, including through Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, and Durrant sold more than 80,000 shares for more than $1.68 million. When Humanigen announced that the FDA had denied EUA for lenzilumab on September 9, 2021, Humanigen’s stock price dropped by nearly 50 percent. The SEC alleges that, as a result of their insider trading, Chappell avoided losses of more than $38 million while Durrant avoided losses of more than $1 million. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, charges Durrant, Chappell, and three investment vehicles under Chappell’s control—Black Horse Capital LP, Black Horse Capital Master Fund Ltd., and Cheval Holdings, Ltd.— with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and officer and director bars against Durrant and Chappell. On December 23, 2024, in a parallel action, the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced unsealed criminal charges against Chappell. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by W. Bradley Ney, Daniel Ball, George B. Parizek, Kevin Wu, and Zachary Scrima under the supervision of Melissa Robertson and Pei Y. Chung. The litigation is being handled by Anna Area, Daniel Lloyd, and Daniel Ball, and supervised by David Nasse. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Criminal Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.