ATLANTA, GA – In a stunning display of financial cunning, five defendants have been sentenced to prison in connection with a years-long options trading scheme that left investors reeling.
According to court documents, Milan Patel, 49, of Cumming, Georgia, and his co-conspirators concocted and disseminated false rumors about publicly traded companies, using these rumors to profitably trade on short-term call options. The scheme, which ran from October 2017 to January 2020, netted the defendants more than $2.6 million in profits.
The conspirators used their financial acumen to manipulate the securities markets, releasing false information about companies such as Trade The News, TradeXchange, and Benzinga. They would then purchase short-term call options mere seconds before disseminating the rumor, allowing them to capitalize on the increased price of the options.
U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May sentenced the defendants as follows:
• Milan Patel, 49, of Cumming, Georgia, was sentenced on January 23, 2025, but the exact sentence is unavailable.
The scheme was uncovered through a joint investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The defendants used their financial acumen to manipulate the securities markets by releasing false information about publicly traded companies,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “Our Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute all forms of securities fraud.”
The FBI, through the diligent work of Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke, warned that “these sentencings should serve as a reminder to anyone attempting to tilt the balance of financial markets in their direction using insider trading, investigating this illegal behavior is a top priority of the FBI and you will be held accountable.”
With the sentencing of these five defendants, the Grimy Times is left wondering what other financial schemes are lurking in the shadows, waiting to be uncovered.
Mandatory Facts:
• Defendant: Milan Patel
• Exact Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to Trade Securities, Securities Fraud
• City and State: Cumming, Georgia
• Exact Date: January 23, 2025 (sentencing)
• Sentence or Outcome: Prison Time (exact sentence unavailable)
• Dollar Amounts: $2,651,320 (profits made by the defendants)
Related Federal Cases
- Jun Ying, Insider Trading, Georgia 2017 · Georgia
- Five Indicted in $280,000 Tax Evasion Scheme, Georgia 2023 · Georgia
- Job-Staffing Scammers, Employment Scheme, Georgia 2024 · Georgia
- Edna Yvonne Orr Goff, Tax Defraud Scheme, GA, 2014 · Georgia
- Edmund Lee McCall, Mail Fraud Scheme, Montgomery AL, 2023 · Georgia
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
White Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar CrimeWhite Collar Crime