U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 23498 / March 24, 2016

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dubovoy, et al., Civil Action No. 2:15-cv-06076-MCA-MAH (D.N.J. filed Aug. 10, 2015) (amended Aug. 23, 2015)

Seven Defendants Agree to Pay Nearly $18 Million in Hacked News Release Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it had entered into settlement agreements, subject to court approval, with defendants David Amaryan, Copperstone Alpha Fund, Copperstone Capital, Intertrade Pacific SA, Ocean Prime Inc., Guibor S.A., and Omega 26 Investments Ltd. in a case alleging a scheme to trade on hacked news releases. In August 2015, the Commission filed a civil action and amended complaint in federal court in New Jersey, and the court entered an asset freeze and other emergency relief against these defendants, among others.

The SEC's amended complaint alleges that:

  • Amaryan and several affiliated entities, Copperstone Alpha Fund, Copperstone Capital, Intertrade, and Ocean Prime, made approximately $8.1 million buying and selling stock on the basis of hacked press releases stolen from two newswire services between 2010 and 2014, and made additional profits trading on press releases stolen from a third newswire service in 2015.
     
  • Guibor and Omega 26 participated in the same scheme and made approximately $3.5 million and $3.1 million respectively, and made additional profits trading on press releases stolen in 2015.

Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, each of the defendants agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and pay disgorgement as follows: $10 million jointly for the Amaryan Defendants, $4.2 million for Guibor, and $3.72 million for Omega 26.

The Commission's litigation continues against the remaining defendants charged in the case. For more information, see Press Release 2015-163 (Aug. 13, 2015) and Litigation Releases 23345 (Sep. 14, 2015) and 23458 (Feb. 2, 2016).