On September 13, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Florida resident Federico Nannini (“Nannini”), a former financial consultant, with insider trading in connection with the purchase of securities of Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives, Inc. (“IEA”) in advance of the company’s planned acquisition by MasTec Inc. The SEC also charged Nannini’s father Mauro and his close friends Alejandro Thermiotis and Francisco Tonarely for their roles in the scheme.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Nannini’s consulting firm was hired by MasTec to provide buy-side due diligence in connection with its acquisition of IEA. The SEC alleges that, during June and July of 2022, Nannini abused his position and breached a duty of trust and confidence to his firm when he began sharing material nonpublic information regarding the acquisition with his father Mauro and friend Thermiotis. Before the acquisition was announced publicly, Mauro Nannini and Thermiotis allegedly made multiple purchases of IEA stock based on the tips. In addition to purchasing $1.6 million in IEA stock, Thermiotis allegedly shared the MNPI with his (and Nannini’s) high school friend Francisco Tonarely. According to the SEC, Nannini continued to share MNPI with his father and Thermiotis until the acquisition was officially announced to the public on July 25, 2022. Following the announcement, IEA’s stock increased by more than 31 percent enabling Mauro Nannini, Thermiotis and Tonarely to generate approximately $1.1 million in combined illicit profits.
In the complaint, the SEC charged Nannini, his father Mauro, Thermiotis and Tonarely (“the Defendants”) with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction against them as well as the disgorgement of their illegal profits, prejudgment interest and civil monetary penalties.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida also filed a parallel criminal action against the Defendants in connection with the unlawful trades. According to USAO, the Defendants were arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and multiple counts of securities fraud. They are currently scheduled to be arraigned on September 27, 2024.
SEC Press Release | SEC Complaint | USAO SDFL Press Release | Indictment