经纪公司前合伙人认罪：利用 SPAC 内幕消息交易获利逾200万美元
美国司法部新泽西区联邦检察官办公室10月23日宣布，新泽西州一家经纪公司的前合伙人 Christopher Matthaei 已于前一日在 Trenton 联邦法院认罪，承认利用一家特殊目的收购公司（SPAC）的未公开合并消息进行内幕交易。
Matthaei 现年48岁，住在新泽西州 Brielle，曾是总部位于 Red Bank 的一家经纪公司的合伙人兼高级销售人员。检方指，他的客户兼好友 Sean Wygovsky 在一家加拿大资产管理公司任交易员，2020年5月28日前后通过加密通讯软件把 SPAC-1 正与一家目标公司秘密商谈合并的重大未公开信息透露给 Matthaei，明知对方会据此交易牟利。Wygovsky 已于2023年5月就相关证券欺诈行为认罪。
2020年5月29日至6月18日，Matthaei 根据这条及其他内幕消息多次买入 SPAC-1 证券；6月19日 SPAC-1 公开宣布达成合并协议后，其持仓大幅升值，他当日开始卖出，仅此一轮即获利近150万美元。按认罪协议计入其他相关交易后，他承认非法获利总额在200万至350万美元之间。
Matthaei 承认的共谋证券欺诈罪最高可判5年监禁，并处最高25万美元罚款，或犯罪获利、被害人损失两倍金额中较高者。联邦地区法官 Georgette Castner 定于2027年2月25日宣判。此案由联邦调查局 FBI Newark 办公室调查，美国证券交易委员会 SEC 等机构提供了协助。
来源：GSM·美国
Former Broker-Dealer Partner Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud Conspiracy in SPAC Insider Trading Scheme
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced on October 23 that Christopher Matthaei, a former partner at a New Jersey broker-dealer firm, pleaded guilty the previous day in federal court in Trenton to conspiring to commit securities fraud involving insider trading in a special purpose acquisition company.
Matthaei, 48, of Brielle, New Jersey, worked as a partner and senior salesperson at a broker-dealer with offices in Red Bank. Prosecutors say his client and close personal friend Sean Wygovsky, a trader at a Canada-based asset management company, tipped him on or about May 28, 2020, through an encrypted messaging platform, that SPAC-1 was engaged in confidential merger discussions with a target company, intending that Matthaei trade on the information. Wygovsky previously pleaded guilty in May 2023 to securities fraud related to the scheme.
Based on that tip and others, Matthaei repeatedly purchased SPAC-1 securities between May 29 and June 18, 2020. After SPAC-1 publicly announced its merger agreement on June 19, 2020, his positions rose sharply in value and he began selling the same day, generating nearly $1.5 million in illicit profits on those trades. Under his plea agreement, he agreed that his total profits, factoring in other relevant conduct, were between $2 million and $3.5 million.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greatest. Sentencing before U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner is scheduled for February 25, 2027. The FBI's Newark office investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies.
来源：GSM·美国
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿特区的美国证券交易委员会 SEC 总部（资料图，本案调查获 SEC 协助）。Ajay Suresh 摄，CC BY 2.0，Wikimedia Commons。Photo: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C. (file photo; the SEC assisted the investigation). By Ajay Suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
