A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty in federal court to using his role at a Denver investment company to commit insider trading.
Ryan Squillante, 40, of Weston, appeared in federal court in Hartford on Friday and waived his right to be indicted, pleading guilty to securities fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Federal authorities alleged that Squillante worked from home when he was employed as the head of equity trading at Irving Investors, an investment company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. As part of his role, he allegedly received what was considered “material non-public information” about various publicly traded companies, according to authorities.
On 15 different occasions between August 2022 and May 2023, Squillante allegedly used this information for his own benefit to make numerous stock trades, making a total profit of about $220,000, officials said.
In one instance in February 2023, Squillante allegedly received information about Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, federal officials said. Between Feb. 27 and March 2, 2023, Squillante “sold short” 38,086 shares of Praxis at an average price per share of about $3.04, according to authorities.
On March 3, 2023, before the market opened, Praxis announced poor results from its drug trial, stating that the drug’s effects did not achieve its primary endpoint with statistical significance. Following the announcement, Squillante allegedly “covered” his short sale by purchasing 38,086 Praxis shares at an average price per share of about $1.82, making a profit of approximately $46,421.
Squillante is scheduled to face sentencing on Aug. 29, when he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
