Three Men Arrested And Charged With Trading On Inside Information Misappropriated From A Credit Rating Agency
New York, New York – Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz, Abell Oujaddou, and Jeremy Millul were arrested this morning in New York for their participation in a scheme to trade on material, nonpublic information misappropriated by Pinto-Thomaz from his employer, a credit rating agency based in New York.
The scheme yielded almost $300,000 in illegal profits. Pinto-Thomaz, Oujaddou, and Millul were arrested on in New York, New York, and will be presented today before United States Magistrate Judge Nathaniel Kevin Fox.
In a separate action, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed civil charges against Pinto-Thomaz, Oujaddou, and Millul.
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, Pinto-Thomaz misappropriated the Inside Information about the Sherwin-Williams acquisition of Valspar and passed it to Oujaddou and Millul so they could use it to make profitable trades.
The Insider Trading Scheme began in March 2016, when Pinto-Thomaz was assigned to work on a Rating Evaluation Service for the Sherwin-Williams Company in advance of its contemplated but unannounced acquisition of the Valspar Corporation. In connection with this assignment, Pinto-Thomaz had access to Inside Information about Sherwin-Williams’s acquisition of Valspar prior to the public announcement of the acquisition.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said: “As alleged, Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz used his position with a credit rating agency, where he was privy to business acquisition plans before they were publicly announced, to provide inside information to two friends who traded on the information and reaped thousands in profits. Then, when asked about this illicit trading, Pinto-Thomaz painted himself into a corner, falsely denying any relationship with his two co-conspirators. Our Office has always been – and remains – committed to ensuring that the nation’s securities markets remain fair for everyone, not just those who have friends in the know.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Aiming to fill their pockets, the defendants allegedly conspired to use Inside Information to advance their greedy agendas. This alleged fraud triangle produced nearly $300,000 in profit among the three defendants. As alleged, Pinto-Thomaz abandoned his duties of loyalty and confidentiality by passing material nonpublic information to his co-conspirators who then made illegal trades. We hope that today’s arrests will show all like-minded schemers that this alleged behavior ultimately does get you to the inside – of a federal prison.”
Defendant Information: Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz, Abell Oujaddou, and Jeremy Millul have been charged with Trading on Inside Information in New York City, New York. The exact date of the crime is March 2016.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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