New York man admits to insider trading after being linked to journalist tipping


Jason Peltz, 39, pleaded in Brooklyn federal court to two counts of insider trading and tax evasion, a year after initially pleading not guilty. He has been engaged in plea negotiations with prosecutors since at least September 2021, according to court records.

“This office will vigorously pursue traders who seek to mislead the system, harm the investing public, and undermine the integrity of our financial markets,” Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.

In March 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Peltz for trading in “material nonpublic information” obtained from a company insider and a financial reporter.

The indictment does not name the reporter or the outlet, but Reuters and other outlets identified him as Ed Hammond, a reporter who specializes in dealings with Bloomberg New York, based on a review of items mentioned in the indictment. Hammond is not charged with any wrongdoing.

“Ed Hammond is a very accomplished journalist,” a Bloomberg News spokesperson said in a statement. “We are not aware of any facts suggesting any wrongdoing on his part.”

The scheme took place from November 2015 to October 2020, according to the indictment.

In a statement read before U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in court on Tuesday, Mr. Peltz said he purchased securities of chemical maker Ferro Corp based on information, obtained from a friend, that Ferro had received a buyout offer. He stated that he knew that the trade in this information was illegal.

In addition to the Ferro transaction, the indictment alleges that Peltz had frequent conversations with the reporter over several months, during which he obtained non-public material information about stories the reporter was working on relating to other companies. .

Each article mentioned in the indictment cited multiple sources and implicated two or more reporters.

Peltz is due to be sentenced in July.

(This story corrects the title, with no changes to the text)



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