Alternative Market Briefing

SEC charges 10 in $11m insider trading ring around investment banker's illegal tips on impending mergers

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today charged an investment banker primarily based in Charlotte, N.C., and nine others involved in an insider trading ring that garnered more than $11m in illicit profits trading on confidential information about impending mergers. According to the complaint, the SEC alleges that John W. Femenia misused his position at Wells Fargo Securities to gather nonpublic information about merger transactions involving Wells Fargo clients. He then passed this information on to Shawn C. Hegedus, a long time friend and registered broker setting of a chain of insider trading that spanned five states.

The SEC has obtained a court order freezing the assets of the illegal traders. Femenia was originally based out of North Carolina, and during his time there passed on the majority of his inside information. Later, he moved to a Wells Fargo office in New York and continued to pass on information. According to a statement from the SEC, the others named in the matter include: Aaron M. Wens, who lives in Encinatas, California and Matthew Musante, who lives in Miami. Musante tipped his father Anthony Musante, who lives in Melbourne, Florida. Hegedus tipped his girlfriend Danielle Laurenti and his business colleague Roger A. Williams, who lives in Georgetown, South Carolina. Williams tipped three of his friends: Frank M. Bur......................

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