Brian Jorgenson, Insider Trading, Washington 2023
Microsoft Insider Jailed for Insider Trading Scheme
A former Senior Manager at Microsoft has been sentenced to two years in prison for insider trading, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan.
Brian Jorgenson, 32, of Lynnwood, Washington, was employed as a Senior Manager in Microsoft’s Treasury Group. He was found guilty of recruiting a former co-worker at an asset management company to make stock trades to help him profit on the movement of Microsoft stock and the stock of related companies.
Jorgenson’s codefendant Sean Stokke, 28, of Seattle, was sentenced last month to 18 months in prison.
At the sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Marsha J. Pechman noted that the financial markets operate on trust. “If we don’t stop the people (who are cheating) that we catch and hold them up as an example, we erode that trust,” Chief Judge Pechman said.
U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan said, “Motivated by greed, this defendant traded on his employer’s confidential information to line his own pocket.”
The investigation revealed that Jorgenson and Stokke profited on three distinct instances of insider information: Microsoft’s investment in Barnes and Noble; Microsoft’s failure to meet earnings estimates in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013; and Microsoft’s increased first quarter earnings in fiscal 2014. After the successful trades, Stokke provided Jorgenson with envelopes of cash in approximately $10,000 increments to avoid any paper trail.
Jorgenson admitted to cheating and trying to take a shortcut for his own financial gain. He pleaded guilty earlier this year, admitting to the crime.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the SEC. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katheryn Kim Frierson.
Defendant: Brian Jorgenson
Criminal Charges: Insider Trading
City and State: Lynnwood, Washington
Exact Date: Sentencing date not specified, but the guilty plea was earlier this year.
Sentence or Outcome: Two years in prison, three years of supervised release
Dollar Amounts: More than $184,000 in profit from the Barnes and Noble stock trade; more than $218,000 in profit from the Microsoft stock trade; and nearly $13,000 in profit from the technology sector fund trade.
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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