U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23458 / February 2, 2016
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Dubovoy, et al., Civil Action No. 2:15-cv-06076-MCA-MAH (D.N.J., filed August 10, 2015)(amended August 23, 2015)
SEC Obtains $4.2 Million from Trader in Hacked News Release Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement, subject to court approval, with Ukrainian-based Concorde Bermuda Ltd. (Concorde) in a case alleging a scheme to trade on hacked news releases. On August 10, 2015, the Commission filed a civil action in the U.S District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the court entered an asset freeze and other emergency relief against Concorde, among others. On August 23, 2015, the Commission amended its complaint to add two defendants, bringing the total to 34.
Concorde is alleged to have made approximately $3.6 million buying and selling stock on the basis of hacked press releases stolen from two newswire services between 2010 and 2014, and to have made additional profits trading on press releases stolen from a third newswire service in 2015. Without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, Concorde consented to the entry of a court order enjoining it 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 ordering it to pay $4.2 million in disgorgement.
The Commission's litigation continues against the remaining defendants charged in the case. For more information, see Litigation Release No. 23319 (August 13, 2015).