Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge a/k/a Josh Ge

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26268 / March 14, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge a/k/a Josh Ge, No. 1:25-cv-10516 (D. Mass. filed Mar. 4, 2025)

SEC Charges Foreign Traders in International Insider Trading Scheme

On March 4, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against German national, Eamma Safi, and Singaporean national, Zhi “Josh” Ge, for their alleged involvement in an international insider trading scheme that generated millions of dollars in illicit profits from trading in advance of market-moving announcements between 2017 and 2024.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Safi allegedly obtained material nonpublic information and tipped Ge and another individual, recruited by Ge, and all three traded profitably on the inside information. Safi allegedly demanded and received kickbacks of trading profits from that individual. The complaint further alleges that Safi, Ge, and other scheme participants used coded and disappearing messages to communicate about their trading. The complaint alleges trading by Safi, Ge and the other individual in advance of ten corporate announcements, and alleges they made over $17.5 million in illicit profits from trading in advance of the announcements.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, charges Safi and Ge with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts unsealed criminal indictments against Safi and Ge on March 4, 2025.

The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Sara Kalin, David Bennett, and John Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit, with assistance from the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The case is being supervised by Assistant Director Michele Perillo and Market Abuse Unit Chief Joseph Sansone. The litigation will be led by Michael Foster of the Chicago Regional Office and Rua Kelly of the Boston Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).