The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against a former Bank of America investment banker and his longtime friend, accusing them of using inside information about a multibillion-dollar utility buyout to net more than $18.5 million in illegal stock profits. Jason Satsky, who once co-led the bank's energy and utility division, allegedly leaked confidential details about South Jersey Industries' pending sale to Gavin Wolfe, a former Bank of America managing director, in the weeks before the deal became public.
The SEC formally filed its complaint on August 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, case number 1:26-cv-7132, charging both men with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As reported by the Charlotte Observer, Satsky directed the bank's preparations for South Jersey Industries' sale after the company hired Bank of America in the spring of 2020 and later asked Satsky in September 2021 to help represent it in a potential sale.
South Jersey Industries, an energy infrastructure holding company that delivers services through a natural gas utility and renewable projects, announced on February 24, 2022 that it had agreed to be acquired by the Infrastructure Investments Fund for $36 per share. The deal, an all-cash transaction advised by J.P. Morgan Investment Management, carried an enterprise value of approximately $8.1 billion — a 46% premium over the stock's 30-day average trading price, according to a GlobeNewswire release. South Jersey Industries stock jumped about 40% following the announcement, and the acquisition closed on February 1, 2023.
A Basketball Game and a Midnight Calendar Entry
At the center of the SEC's case is a November 9, 2021 college basketball doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, where the Charlotte Observer reports Wolfe and Satsky attended together. The event was a Champions Classic matchup featuring Duke versus Kentucky and Kansas versus Michigan State, and the bankers and their wives watched from luxury box seats arranged through Bank of America, according to Investment Executive.
Court filings cited by Investment Executive show that immediately after the game ended, Wolfe set a midnight phone calendar entry reading “SJi and njr” — an apparent reference to South Jersey Industries and New Jersey Resources — for 9:15 the next morning. He then transferred nearly $2.2 million into a trading account and began buying South Jersey Industries stock on November 10, 2021, per the Charlotte Observer. By December 1, 2021, Wolfe had spent more than $53 million on the stock, ultimately acquiring more than 2.2 million shares through eight controlled entities.
Decades-Long Friendship Under Scrutiny
Satsky and Wolfe's professional relationship dates back to 2005, and the two worked together as senior investment bankers in Credit Suisse Group AG's power and renewable energy group before joining Bank of America together in 2012, according to Banking Dive. At Bank of America, the pair worked within the Americas Power and Renewables Energy & Utility Investment Banking Group, which advises companies, private equity firms and infrastructure funds on financial strategy and fundraising, per the Charlotte Observer.
The SEC also alleged that Wolfe, described as an influential donor with connections in university development offices, helped get Satsky's son into a prestigious university's undergraduate program — a detail regulators cited to illustrate the depth of trust between the two men, according to the SEC. Wolfe allegedly used encrypted messaging to order some of the trades, per the SEC's complaint, and later tipped off three associates who made about $515,000 in unrealized profits, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Defense Teams Push Back on Circumstantial Case
Both men deny the SEC's allegations. Reed Brodsky, Wolfe's attorney, said in August that the SEC ignored sworn, immunized testimony and contemporaneous documents showing Wolfe purchased South Jersey Industries stock based on an independent investment thesis rather than inside information, according to Energy Connects. Wolfe denies the allegations, per Reuters.
Robert Anello, who represents Satsky, said Satsky did not breach any duty of confidentiality, per the Charlotte Observer. That report also notes Satsky has had a 30-year career in finance and, according to Anello, an unblemished reputation for integrity. The lawsuit alleges Satsky misrepresented his relationship with Wolfe in an August 2022 response to inquiries and concealed that relationship during internal bank and FINRA reviews, though Satsky maintains he never provided illegal information to Wolfe or anyone else.
Investigation Timeline and Regulatory Fallout
FINRA began investigating the trading activity, and FBI agents interviewed Wolfe and his investment manager on February 7, 2024, according to the Charlotte Observer. Wolfe and his investment manager allegedly denied at that time that Wolfe had directed the trades. The lawsuit further alleges that in May 2022, Wolfe contacted Satsky seeking confidential updates on the deal's regulatory approval status.
Bank of America terminated Satsky in March 2025 as the internal inquiries progressed, though the bank itself faces no wrongdoing allegations in the lawsuit. Satsky now serves as co-managing director of Climate Real Impact Solutions, a special purpose acquisition company focused on clean energy technology, based in New York. Wolfe is managing partner of Wolfe Holdings LLC and lives in New York and Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.
What the SEC Wants Next
The SEC named eight relief defendants in its complaint — entities the agency says Wolfe controlled and used to purchase and hold the South Jersey Industries stock, including Evergreen Capital L.P., Evergreen Financial LLC, Empire Property Management LLC and GAW Holdings LLC. A relief defendant is a person or entity named in a lawsuit who is not accused of wrongdoing but holds assets obtained through others' illegal acts.
Beyond disgorgement of the alleged profits, the SEC is seeking permanent officer-and-director bars against both men, a conduct-based injunction barring Satsky from advising on public M&A deals, civil penalties, and a jury trial. The case adds to a string of recent insider trading crackdowns in New York federal courts, following Hoodline's coverage of a Manhattan Rivian insider trading gambit involving Volkswagen engineers over the summer. No parallel criminal indictment by the Department of Justice has been announced in the Satsky and Wolfe matter to date.
