A former Equifax manager, Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, has pleaded guilty to insider trading in connection with the company’s massive data breach in 2017.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Bonthu used confidential information to determine that Equifax had suffered a massive data breach, which resulted in the exposure of the personal data of over 145 million consumers.
In August 2017, Bonthu, who was a software development manager for Equifax’s Global Consumer Services team, learned about the breach and used that information to purchase put options in Equifax stock, which allowed him to profit if the value of the stock dropped. Bonthu ultimately made a profit of more than $75,000.
The breach was publicly disclosed on September 7, 2017, and Equifax’s stock fell the next day.
Bonthu, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to a charge of insider trading and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 18, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber and Lynsey M. Barron are prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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