Chief Operating Officer, Public Company Pleads Guilty, Insider Trading Tuesday — Former President and Chief Operating Officer of Public Company Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading | United States Justice Department.
Smith executed the trades to financially benefit Individual-A.Smith pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud. announcement Former President and Chief Operating Officer of Public Company Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading Tuesday, November 18, 2025 Share Facebook X LinkedIn Email For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs An Idaho executive pleaded guilty to insider trading on the basis of material nonpublic information about an impending corporate acquisition.court filings state, Michael Smith, 48, of Eagle, Idaho, served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Company-1 since in or around June 2022. He
carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. Smith was subject to Company-1’s Insider Trading Policy that, among other things, prohibited employees from trading in Company-1’s stock if an employee possessed MNPI.On July 26, 2024, Smith bought Company-1 stock using a brokerage account belonging to Individual-A. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Davis for the District of Idaho; and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group (USPIS-CI) made the announcement.USPIS-CI is investigating the case.Trial Attorneys Kyle Crawford and
John Liolos of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Updated November 18, 2025 Topic Financial Fraud Components Criminal Division Criminal – Criminal Fraud Section USAO – Idaho announcement Number: 25-1082. Company-1 was based in Idaho, and its shares were publicly traded on NASDAQ.By at least June 2024, by virtue of his position at Company-1, Smith received material nonpublic information (MNPI) regarding the impending acquisition of Company-1 by another company. Smith and Individual-A had a close personal relationship. Smith executed these trades on the basis of MNPI about the impending acquisition of Company-1 despite knowing that he was