Damian Williams, the United States Lawyer for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Cost of the New York Field Office environment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), introduced now the unsealing of a criminal criticism charging PUNEET DIKSHIT, a associate in a global administration consulting agency (the “Consulting Firm”), with securities fraud in link with a scheme to commit insider buying and selling dependent on content, nonpublic information about the approaching general public announcement that an financial investment lender (the “Investment Bank”) – which DIKSHIT and the Consulting Company were advising – would be attaining GreenSky, Inc. (“GreenSky”). The defendant was arrested previously nowadays and will be presented this afternoon ahead of U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin N. Fox.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams explained: “As alleged, Puneet Dikshit, a consulting business associate, exploited his access to content nonpublic information and facts about a pending acquisition of GreenSky, Inc., to trade in GreenSky connect with alternatives. This breach of duties to his organization and its investment decision lender consumer – and violation of the law – allegedly reaped the defendant almost 50 % a million bucks in illegal income. Now Puneet Dikshit has been charged with really serious felonies for his alleged conduct.”
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “As alleged, Mr. Dikshit exploited his entry to materials nonpublic data regarding the acquisition of Inexperienced Sky to financial gain from trades he manufactured in solutions markets. Actions like individuals we allege serve to undermine the public’s self-confidence in the integrity of financial markets, and, as we have demonstrated time and all over again, the FBI and our associates are dedicated to guaranteeing a level actively playing industry for all traders. Mr. Dikshit now faces important federal costs, which must serve as a warning to other individuals contemplating related perform.”
According to the allegations in the Grievance unsealed these days in Manhattan federal court docket:[1]
GreenSky was a publicly traded monetary technologies firm that presented technology to financial institutions and merchants to make financial loans to customers for residence advancement, photo voltaic, health care, and other applications. GreenSky’s prevalent inventory traded below the symbol “GSKY” on the NASDAQ.
Among on or about November 2019 and on or about July 2020, and once more between on or about April 2021 and on or about September 2021, the Investment decision Lender engaged the Consulting Firm to present many consulting services relevant to its thing to consider of an acquisition of GreenSky and the article-acquisition integration of GreenSky. DIKSHIT was one of the Consulting Business companions main these engagements. In that purpose, he had accessibility to product, nonpublic details, which he misappropriated and, in violation of the obligations that he owed to the Investment decision Lender and the Consulting Company, utilized to trade GreenSky contact possibilities.
DIKSHIT engaged in this investing among on or about July 26, 2021, and on or about September 15, 2021 – at the exact time he was foremost the Consulting Business team that was advising the Financial commitment Financial institution about its likely acquisition of GreenSky. At many occasions between on or about July 26, 2021, and on or about September 13, 2021, DIKSHIT ordered and sold reasonably smaller figures of GreenSky get in touch with alternatives, which had expiration dates months or months from the time of purchase. However, in the two times right before the September 15, 2021, community announcement that the Expenditure Lender would be getting GreenSky, DIKSHIT marketed all of these for a longer time-dated GreenSky simply call possibilities and bought approximately 2,500 out-of-the-funds GreenSky simply call possibilities that ended up due to expire just a handful of times later, on September 17, 2021. After the deal was declared, DIKSHIT marketed these calls and understood earnings of close to $450,000.
* * *
DIKSHIT, 40, of New York, New York, is billed with two counts of securities fraud, each individual of which has a optimum sentence of 20 many years in prison. The statutory optimum sentences are recommended by Congress and furnished below for informational needs only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be established by the decide.
Mr. Williams praised the superb operate of the FBI. Mr. Williams more thanked the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee, which right now submitted a parallel civil motion, for its guidance and cooperation in this investigation.
This scenario is currently being managed by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Process Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua A. Naftalis and Matthew Podolsky are in demand of the prosecution.
The costs contained in the Criticism are simply accusations, and the defendant is presumed harmless unless and until eventually tested guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Grievance and the description of the Grievance set forth in this release constitute only allegations, and each and every truth explained should really be taken care of as an allegation.