Former Equifax manager is charged with insider trading for selling shares before data breach was disclosed
Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu allegedly made more than US$75,000 after betting that his company’s shares would fall when the breach was revealed
US securities regulators announced insider trading charges on Thursday against a former Equifax manager who sold shares in the company before it disclosed a giant data breach.
Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, a product development manager at Equifax, allegedly netted more than US$75,000 after placing orders on September 1, 2017 betting that Equifax shares would fall, according to a complaint by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Six days later, the company announced one of the biggest data breaches ever, sending shares sharply lower.
“As we allege, Bonthu, who was entrusted with confidential information by his employer, misused that information to conclude that his company had suffered a massive data breach and then sought to illegally profit,” said Richard Best, director of the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office.
“Corporate insiders simply cannot abuse their access to sensitive information and illegally enrich themselves.”