The banker, the brothers, the friends and their frauds

Core Viewpoint - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey has filed criminal charges against six individuals for securities fraud, insider trading, and conspiracy, with allegations stemming from insider information related to merger and acquisition deals [1] Group 1: Allegations and Charges - The SEC alleges that between June 2020 and February 2024, an investment banker named Kim provided insider information to Saad Shoukat regarding nine potential merger and acquisition deals [1] - Saad Shoukat allegedly shared this insider information with his brothers, Khan and Okonkwo, leading to illicit trading profits of approximately US$41 million [2] Group 2: Manipulation of Securities - The Shoukat brothers are accused of manipulating the securities of Olema Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc. [2] - In the Olema case, Saad and Arham Shoukat allegedly impersonated doctors to obtain confidential information about clinical trials and published false positive results to inflate the stock price [3] - They profited from trading Olema's stock before the misinformation was corrected, benefiting from the temporarily inflated stock price [4] Group 3: False Press Releases - In a separate scheme, the Shoukat brothers purchased Opiant stock based on insider information from Kim, which indicated that Opiant was a takeover target [5] - When the anticipated deal did not occur, the brothers allegedly issued a false press release about a fictitious partnership to artificially boost Opiant's stock price, allowing them to sell at a higher price [5] Group 4: Regulatory Actions - The SEC is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with interest, and civil penalties against the six individuals involved, along with a permanent prohibition against Kim [6]