Songjiang Wang Arrested in $250K Insider Trading Scheme

Songjiang Wang, 52, a Cambridge biopharmaceutical executive, was arrested today and charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud in a multi-year insider trading scheme that exploited confidential clinical drug trial data. The Director of Statistical Programming allegedly turned corporate secrets into cold cash, trading on nonpublic information and funneling tips to a close associate in a brazen betrayal of fiduciary trust.

Wang’s co-conspirator, Schultz “Jason” Chan, formerly the Director of Biostatistics at another Cambridge-based biopharma firm, was already charged in June 2016 for his role in the scheme. According to the criminal complaint, from November 2013 to September 2015, the two men exchanged inside intelligence on successful clinical trials at their respective companies. Wang allegedly acted on tips from Chan regarding a pivotal clinical study, then flipped the script—feeding Chan advance details about his own employer’s trial results before public announcements.

The scheme went beyond mere information swapping. Wang allegedly handed Chan cash to purchase shares in Wang’s employer, leveraging insider knowledge to time the trades perfectly. After Chan sold the stock for profit, he paid Wang back—completing a closed loop of corruption hidden behind the sterile facade of scientific research and statistical analysis.

The Department of Justice is seeking a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. While federal sentences often fall below the statutory maximum, the charges mark a serious escalation in the government’s crackdown on white-collar crime in the tightly knit biotech corridor of Massachusetts.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, announced the charges. The investigation was a joint effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Securities & Exchange Commission, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Walters and Stephen E. Frank, Chief and Deputy Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit.

The complaint remains an allegation. Songjiang Wang is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. But the case exposes how even the most advanced scientific institutions can become breeding grounds for financial corruption when insiders cross the line for profit.