The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Willow Grove, Pennsylvania resident Carlos Sacanell with insider trading ahead of an announcement that CVS Health Corporation, Inc. had agreed to acquire Oak Street Health, Inc. According to the SEC’s complaint, Sacanell was in a long-term relationship with a senior executive at Oak Street, who shared with Sacanell material nonpublic information about the CVS/Oak Street transaction in confidence. Sacanell allegedly purchased Oak Street stock and call options based on that information, resulting in him owning more Oak Street call options than any other retail investor and the fifth most overall. The complaint alleges that after the deal was publicly announced, Sacanell’s trading resulted in approximately $617,000 in illegal profits.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, charges Sacanell with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, a civil penalty, and an officer-and-director bar.
In a parallel action concerning the same conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania today announced criminal charges against Sacanell.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Norman P. Ostrove, Patrick McCluskey, and Julia C. Green of the Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit and supervised by Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the Market Abuse Unit, and Scott A. Thompson and Nicholas P. Grippo of the Philadelphia Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Spencer Willig and supervised by Gregory Bockin of the Philadelphia Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the FBI.
Jeff Newman JD MBA, represents whistleblowers nationwide relating to Medicare and Medicaid fraud, under the state and federal False Claims Act (Qui Tam) and corporate whistleblowers in major claims under the SEC, CFTC and FINCEN whistleblower programs. He can be reached at Jeff@JeffNewmanLaw.com or at 617-823-3217
