A former trainee at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pleaded guilty after being charged with trading on confidential information about pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.’s acquisition of biotechnology company Pandion Therapeutics, according to a Bloomberg Law article.
Seth Markin admitted in Manhattan federal court to using insider information from his former girlfriend, who was working as a lawyer at the time, prompting him to conduct profitable trades. The court noted that his then girlfriend is not facing any accusations of wrongdoing.
The inside information Markin leveraged was received indirectly. While the two were cohabitating during the pandemic, he managed to glean details about Merck & Co.’s impending acquisition of Pandion Therapeutics from documents his girlfriend received from her law firm in early 2021.
The prosecutors have accused Markin of securing over $1.4 million by trading on the confidential information. As per his agreement with prosecutors, Markin pleaded guilty to a single count of securities fraud.
Some additional details from the case reveal that Markin had passed on information related to the confidential dealings to a friend. In return, he received a luxury watch and a trip as gifts. The plea deal indicates that Markin will not contest a sentence of 37 months or less.