Federal authorities have exposed one of the most sophisticated insider trading operations in recent history. The DOJ and SEC announced charges against 30 individuals accused of running a decade-long scheme that allegedly siphoned tens of millions from nearly 30 major mergers and acquisitions.
Nineteen defendants were arrested on May 6. Two others are reported fugitives in Russia and Israel, according to the Massachusetts District Attorney’s office.
The scheme’s alleged ringleaders were not rogue traders but lawyers: California attorney Nicolo Nourafchan and New York attorney Robert Yadgarov. They allegedly leveraged access to confidential deal documents at major US law firms, turning privileged M&A information into profit.
They built a sophisticated network using burner phones and encrypted messaging to relay tips to traders across the US, Russia, and Israel. Traders then front-run public deals, buying securities before merger announcements inflated prices. Shell companies obscured the money trail.
The targeted deals included the Amazon-iRobot acquisition. Prosecution is led by the US Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, with the SEC separately charging 21 defendants. Securities fraud charges carry maximum sentences up to 25 years.
All trading occurred on traditional stock exchanges; no cryptocurrencies or blockchain were involved. The scheme’s decade-long duration highlights potential compliance gaps at the firms where documents were accessed.