Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have pulled back the curtain on what they say was a high-speed insider trading play tied to the massive Rivian–Volkswagen joint venture, charging two Volkswagen engineers with securities fraud after a run that allegedly netted them more than $300,000 in profits.
An indictment unsealed Friday accuses Michael Stamp and Marcus Plank of quietly snapping up Rivian shares and call options in the weeks before the partnership was made public, then cashing out after the market reacted. Both men were arrested and are set to be presented in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
What prosecutors allege
According to the indictment, Stamp and Plank tapped into confidential Volkswagen negotiation materials, internally labeled "Project Climb," and used that inside view of the talks to time their trades in Rivian between April and June 2024. Prosecutors say Stamp bought roughly 9,000 Rivian shares along with about 10,200 call options, while Plank purchased hundreds of shares and several thousand options of his own.
The filing says both men dumped those positions after the joint venture went public, locking in the alleged profits. It also cites internet searches by the defendants and a close family member that prosecutors argue show they knew exactly how problematic the trades were. The detailed allegations are laid out in the indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The joint venture and the market move
Rivian and Volkswagen announced their headline-grabbing joint venture on June 25, 2024, a deal that included an initial $1 billion investment from Volkswagen with an expected multibillion expansion to follow. The news lit a fire under Rivian’s stock, which jumped about 23% on the next trading day, a surge prosecutors say provided the foundation for Stamp and Plank’s alleged windfall, according to Business Wire.
Charges and reaction
Stamp, 31, and Plank, 45, each face a conspiracy to commit securities fraud charge along with multiple substantive securities fraud counts. The indictment lists maximum statutory penalties that include multi-year prison terms and forfeiture of any ill-gotten gains.
"Michael Stamp and Marcus Plank’s alleged exploitation of their employer’s confidential information allowed them to make more than $300,000 in illegal profits," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. The case is in the hands of the office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, SDNY.
What comes next
The two engineers were taken into custody and are expected to be presented in federal court in the Northern District of California, where upcoming court dates and filings will shape how the prosecution unfolds. The indictment includes a forfeiture allegation aimed at clawing back the alleged profits and reiterates that the charges remain allegations while the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
For anyone sitting near sensitive deal talks at a major company, cases like this double as a loud warning: trading on confidential information can land you in a federal courtroom as fast as it can move a stock chart. This story will continue to develop as new filings and hearing dates hit the docket.
