On May 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that five individuals were charged for their alleged roles in an insider trading scheme that reportedly resulted in more than $600,000 in illicit profits. The DOJ reported that Rouzbeh “Ross” Haghighat, Behrouz “Bruce” Haghighat, Kirstyn Pearl, Seyedfarbod “Fabio” Sabzevari, and James Roberge were charged in a 19-count indictment for unlawfully purchasing securities of an unnamed Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company (“Company 1”) on the basis of material nonpublic information between May and June 2023.
According to court documents, Ross Haghighat allegedly served as a director on the board of Company-1 when he obtained material nonpublic information about its impending acquisition by an unnamed company based in Switzerland. Based on this MNPI, Ross allegedly purchased securities of Company-1 before the planned acquisition was announced publicly. Ross also allegedly shared the MNPI with his brother Bruce Haghighat, his step-daughter Pearl, his co-worker Sabzevari, and his friend Roberge, each of whom allegedly purchased securities of Company-1 based on the tip. According to the Indictment, Pearl also shared her illicit profits with Ross.
The DOJ reported that each defendant was charged with securities fraud and insider trading, while Ross Haghighat, Bruce Haghighat and Pearl were additionally charged with securities fraud conspiracy. On May 27, 2025, all five defendants were scheduled to be arraigned on June 12, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
DOJ Press Release | Indictment | Docket Entries