On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Jason Peltz of Long Island City, New York with insider trading ahead of a media report about the potential acquisition of chemical manufacturer Ferro Corp. that caused the company's stock price to climb. Peltz also tipped others to trade ahead of the news, for a collective total profit of approximately $1 million.

According to the SEC's complaint, Peltz used inside information to trade Ferro securities before a March 15, 2016 news media article that Ferro had received a takeover approach from a prominent private equity firm. The complaint alleges that Peltz placed his trades using accounts held in the names of others, including the account of a British Virgin Islands company. Peltz further leveraged the inside information by tipping several associates who all traded Ferro within days of Peltz.

The case originated from the SEC Market Abuse Unit's Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious trading patterns.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York filed criminal charges against Peltz on December 22, 2020.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in Brooklyn, charges Peltz with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and seeks injunctive relief and civil monetary penalties.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Vanessa De Simone, Barry O'Connell, Chevon Walker, David Makol, John Rymas, and Assunta Vivolo of the Market Abuse Unit, and Diego Brucculeri of the New York Regional Office. This case has been supervised by Mr. Sansone. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.