Five individuals are facing charges for allegedly participating in an insider trading scheme, a statement from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division revealed. The indictment, which came to light yesterday, involved a 19-count charge against the group, accused of trading securities with nonpublic information, resulting in over $600,000 in profits. According to court documents, the scheme unraveled between May and June 2023 around the time of a merger between two biopharmaceutical companies.
At the heart of the accusations lies Rouzbeh “Ross” Haghighat, a 61-year-old resident of West Newbury, Massachusetts, and a director at one of the companies involved (Company-1). He along with Behrouz “Bruce” Haghighat of Laguna Niguel, California, Kirstyn Pearl of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Seyedfarbod “Fabio” Sabzevari of North Hollywood, California, and James Roberge of Westford, Massachusetts, are accused of leveraging material nonpublic inside information regarding the acquisition of Company-1 by another firm (Company-2), which was not yet public knowledge. This confidential proposal by Company-2 to acquire Company-1 at a premium share price came in May 2023, and the deal was only announced the following month, leading to a spike in share price.
“The defendants were charged yesterday for allegedly trading on inside information and reaping hundreds of thousands in illicit profits,” Matthew R. Galeotti, the head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, explained. The sentiments were echoed by U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for the District of New Jersey and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group. Shen affirmed, “Ross Haghighat and his associates thought they were above the law and colored outside the lines for financial gain, but yesterday’s indictment proves no one is above the law.”
Investigations into the case remain ongoing, spearheaded by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case proceedings are being managed by Trial Attorney John J. Liolos of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mezzanotte for the District of New Jersey. Despite the weighty allegations, it is imperative to remember that an indictment is not a conviction, and the accused are entitled to a fair trial where they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
