Minor league baseball players accused of insider trading in Del Taco stocks

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) - Three current and former minor league baseball players, including two defendants with ties to the San Diego area, have been accused of insider trading in Del Taco, Inc. stocks, prosecutors said.

Austin Bernard, drafted by the Colorado Rockies, and Jordan Qsar, drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays, allegedly received advanced notice of the acquisition of Del Taco by Jack in the Box on Dec. 6, 2021, the Office of the United States Attorney Southern District of California said in a news release Tuesday. Grant Witherspoon, a Colorado native who was also drafted by the Rays, also faces charges.

"According to the indictment, Qsar learned from a close friend who worked at Jack in the Box that the company was acquiring Del Taco. The friend was a senior associate in Jack in the Box's strategic finance department who personally worked on the acquisition project. The disclosure was a violation of duties to Jack in the Box and its shareholders," prosecutors said.

Qsar, who was connected to Witherspoon and Bernard through collegiate and minor league baseball teams at Pepperdine University and the Rays, is suspected of fraudulently sharing the insider information with them, per the indictment.

Prosecutors say the three defendants then discussed how many shares they were purchasing while tipping others with the inside information. When Del Taco's stock soared 66 percent, jumping in price from $7.53 to $12.51 per share, according to the indictment, Qsar, Witherspoon and Bernard sold all their Del Taco stocks for illegal profits of around $56,000, $41,800 and $64,600, respectively, prosecutors allege.

"Insider trading directly affects the integrity of our economy," said FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. "We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to ensure people who intentionally undermine and threaten our economy will be brought to justice."

The charges the defendants face include conspiracy, securities fraud, aiding and abetting and criminal forfeiture, according to prosecutors.