Justin Jennings and Vortex Strategies LLC

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26570 / June 23, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Justin Jennings and Vortex Strategies LLC, No. 2:26-cv-07525 (D.N.J. filed June 23, 2026)

SEC Charges New Jersey Man and His Company in Connection with Alleged Insider Trading

On June 23, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Justin Jennings and Vortex Strategies LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company Jennings owned and controlled, with insider trading based on material nonpublic information Jennings allegedly misappropriated from his romantic partner and used to trade in advance of several corporate announcements.

According to the SEC’s complaint, between February 2022 and October 2024, Jennings misappropriated inside information from his then-romantic partner, an account executive who worked at a strategic communications and investor relations firm. As alleged, Jennings used his romantic partner’s work-issued laptop computer to access material nonpublic information, including information related to mergers and acquisitions, earnings announcements, and other significant corporate events involving several of the communication and investor relations firm’s public company clients, without her authorization. The complaint further alleges that, based on this confidential information, Jennings used his personal brokerage account and an account in the name of Vortex to purchase the securities of eight public companies ahead of significant corporate disclosures and made illicit profits of approximately $2.7 million.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, charges Jennings and Vortex with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against them.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced criminal charges against Jennings.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by David Bennett of the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit and Julia Huseman and Nikolay Vydashenko of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office with assistance from John Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis & Detection Center. The matter was supervised by Jaime Marinaro and Joseph G. Sansone. The litigation will be led by Jason Rose and supervised by Keefe Bernstein, both of the Fort Worth Regional Office.

The staff appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.