Litigation: SEC Charges Ex-Ernst & Young Employee With Insider Trading

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following litigation release (No. 1:22-cv-08064; S.D.N.Y. filed Sept. 21, 2022) involving Michael Weiss:

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The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Michael Weiss with insider trading in the stock of four Ernst & Young LLP ("EY") clients or prospective clients ("EY Client Companies") made while he was employed as an EY Business Development Director. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that Weiss' work on EY business development teams or "pursuits" provided him with access to clients' and prospective clients' confidential and sensitive information.

On four separate occasions between July 2014 and September 2015, while in possession and on the basis of that material nonpublic information, and in breach of his duties to EY and its clients, Weiss purchased EY Client Companies' shares in advance of earnings and acquisition announcements. As alleged in the complaint, Weiss obtained illicit profits from those trades of approximately $10,286.

The SEC's complaint charges Weiss with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.

Without admitting or denying the complaint's allegations, Weiss has agreed to the entry of a final judgment that would enjoin him from violations of the charged provisions, order disgorgement and prejudgment interest, and impose a one-time civil penalty for a total of $23,900. The settlement is subject to court approval.

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Original text here: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2022/lr25516.htm