On April 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Stephen George, the former Vice President and Controller of a consumer-packaged goods company based in Florida, was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment for his role in an insider trading scheme after pleading guilty to one count of securities fraud in February 2025. According to the Judgment, George was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and fined $10,000 for his role in the scheme. He was separately ordered to pay more than $200,000 in restitution and more than $1.6 million in forfeiture.
According to court documents, from November 2018 to April 2023, George worked as an executive in the Finance Department of an unnamed fitness drink maker whose securities were publicly traded. Multiple media outlets have reported that George’s former employer was Florida-based Celsius Holdings. On April 7, 2023, the last day his employment, George created a consolidated income statement that contained material non-public information regarding his employer’s financial performance, which he emailed to himself using two personal accounts. The MNPI included information regarding the company’s first quarter results that had greatly exceeded expectations. On April 10, 2023, the first trading day after leaving his job, George began purchasing the company’s securities based on the MNPI, allegedly purchasing 20,000 shares of common stock and 300 call option contracts before the financial results were announced publicly. On the day of the announcement, the company’s stock price increased significantly, and the very next trading day, George sold all 20,000 shares of common stock and 300 call option contracts and allegedly realized more than $1.6 million in illegal profits.
DOJ Press Release | Judgment | Notice of Restitution | Order of Forfeiture | Plea Agreement/Factual Proffer