Usama Malik, Insider Trading, New Jersey 2023

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Usama Malik Admits Insider Trading Scheme, Newark NJ, 2023

NEWARK, N.J. – In a shocking turn of events, former chief financial officer Usama Malik, 48, of Washington, D.C., has pleaded guilty to his role in an insider trading scheme.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Malik was among the first employees to receive material non-public information about a breast cancer drug before its public announcement on April 6, 2020. The company, a New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, had proven the effectiveness of its antibody-based drug in pre-market clinical trials.

Within minutes of obtaining the information, Malik passed it along to Lauren S. Wood, 34, also of Washington, D.C., who lived with him at the time and was formerly employed by the same company. Wood, who had been downgraded by financial experts, placed an order for approximately 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, realizing a significant profit after selling her shares.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced the guilty plea, with Philip R. Sellinger crediting special agents of the FBI for the investigation leading to the guilty plea. The SEC also filed a civil complaint on December 1, 2021, based on the same conduct.

Malik pleaded guilty to Count One of an indictment charging him with securities fraud/insider trading, punishable by a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $5 million. Sentencing is scheduled for September 18, 2023.

Wood, who pleaded guilty on June 22, 2022, to an information charging her with securities fraud/insider trading, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18, 2023.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua L. Haber and Vikas Khanna.