Three men have pled guilty to charges related to a long-running insider trading scheme involving stocks of several healthcare companies. The case revolves around Robert Yedid, a former executive at an investor relations firm, and his associates, Andrew Kaufman and Mark Jacobs, who used confidential information to trade and make illicit profits.
According to a press release published by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the trio admitted to illegal trading based on insider information, which included details such as merger announcements and clinical trial results. Their scheme began in 2019 and continued until 2024, accruing more than $500,000 in ill-gotten gains. Yedid provided the nonpublic information to Kaufman and Jacobs, who then traded the information swiftly and profitably.
"Robert Yedid betrayed the trust of his employer and its clients by stealing confidential information and passing it to two friends, Andrew Kaufman and Mark Jacobs, to make unlawful, profitable trades based on inside information," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in the press release. Over the five years, Kaufman and Jacobs acted on Yedid's information on at least 17 different occasions, leading Kaufman to reap profits exceeding $480,000, and Jacobs around $35,000.
The concerted efforts by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office have led to the convictions. Kaufman, possibly to try to avoid detection, deleted spreadsheets tracking the illegal profits after being approached by FBI agents, an action that led to an additional charge of obstruction of justice.
The charges faced by the defendants carry significant maximum sentences. Yedid, 67, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud. Kaufman, 68, faces the same charges along with obstruction of justice. Jacobs, 77, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced in September. While the maximum sentences are set by Congress, the actual sentencing will be determined by Chief Judge Swain.
