A 62-year-old Gibsonia man has been slapped with charges of securities fraud after allegedly making bank using insider info from a Dick's Sporting Goods employee. The Feds say Frank T. Poerio Jr. could be looking at a whopping 80 years and $20 million in fines after playing the NYSE like a fiddle with non-public deets from his pal, raking in some $823,000 in dirty money.
Announced by U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan, the charges claim Poerio gamed the system, intentionally bagging shares and call options of Dick's right before earnings were spilled – times when employees were told to zip it on trades. The info was supposedly coming from a chatty insider at the sporting giant's corporate office, nestled in Moon Township, who was kneedeep in the company's data analytics. The duo frequently chewed the fat over finance and investing, per the charges.
This Gibsonia slick, Poerio, is said to have swung nearly 200 trades off this illicit tip-off between August 2019 and May 2021. "The trades allegedly netted approximately $823,000 in profit for Poerio," as it was stated on the Justice Department's website. Each of the four counts Poerio faces maxes out at two decades behind bars and a not-so-petty fine of $5 million or both – if the judge throws the book at him.
The case, which could be the curtain call for Poerio's freedom, is being pursued by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory C. Melucci.
