Ex-Cigna employee pays $33,000 to settle insider-trading charges
When Cigna released its second-quarter financial performance on Aug. 5, 2021, its stock dropped by 13%, and Ferrie "realized an approximately 236% profit of $16,039.78 on his investment of $6,782.05," the complaint said.
A former Cigna financial controller accused of insider trading using nonpublic information he learned on the job agreed to pay more than $33,000 to settle the charges.
This complaint was surfaced on Law.com Radar.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought the case against 35-year-old Prospect resident Jonathan J. Ferrie on Monday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut.
Ferrie was an employee of The Cigna Group, a large health insurance company, from 2016 to August 2022.
In June 2021, Ferrie allegedly traded using nonpublic information, which showed Cigna’s financial performance during the second quarter of 2021 was below expectations, the complaint said.
When Cigna released its second-quarter financial performance on Aug. 5, 2021, its stock dropped by 13%, and Ferrie “realized an approximately 236% profit of $16,039.78 on his investment of $6,782.05,” the complaint said.
Ferrie allegedly violated Cigna’s policy against insider trading and company policy barring employees from trading in option on Cigna stock, the complaint said. This conduct also violated federal securities laws, the complaint said.
According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission press release, Ferrie agreed on Monday to enter into a judgment ordering a permanent injunction, which prohibits him from violating anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Ferrie also agreed to pay around $16,000 in disgorgement, around $1,500 in prejudgment interest, and a civil money penalty of around $16,000, the press release said.
In addition, Ferrie was barred from becoming an officer or director of a public company for three years, the press release said.
Ferrie consented to this agreement without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, and the settlement is subject to court approval.
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