The Financial Times | May 25 2017:
Latest step in watchdog’s assault on Washington’s ‘political intelligence’ industry.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged that an alleged four-man insider trading ring had turned confidential government information about Medicare reimbursement rates into lucrative healthcare stock tips.
Christopher Worrall, 39, a health insurance specialist at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), funnelled details of planned payment rate changes to a former co-worker and close friend, David Blaszczak, 41, a consultant in Washington’s so-called “political intelligence” industry, the commission said.
Mr Blaszczak, in turn, reported what he had learnt to Theodore Huber, 55, and Jordan Fogel, 33, two healthcare analysts. Their employer, identified in the complaint only as “Advisor A”, made $3.9m in “illegal profits”, thanks to the inside information, the SEC said.
During the period in question, both men worked for Deerfield Management, a New York-based registered investment adviser. The company said it is co-operating with the government investigation and is “committed to maintaining a strict culture of compliance and the highest ethical standards”.
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