On September 12, 2025, Robert Yedid was sentenced in the Southern District of New York to 15 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for his role in a five-year insider trading scheme. In June 2025, Yedid pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud conspiracy for his role in the scheme. He was also ordered for forfeit approximately $245,000, which represents the proceeds derived from his criminal activity. According to federal prosecutors, Yedid abused his position as a former director with an unnamed investment relations firm by sharing material nonpublic information with his co-defendants, Andrew Kaufman and Mark Jacobs, who allegedly generated more than $500,000 in illegal profits from the scheme.
According to the DOJ, between 2019 and 2024, Yedid’s employer provided public relations services to certain healthcare companies, which enabled Yedid, as its director, to access MNPI related to these companies, including upcoming press releases related to clinal trial results, earning reports, regulatory approvals and merger and acquisition announcements. Federal prosecutors accused Yedid of violating the duties of trust and confidence owed to his employer by knowingly and willfully sharing the MNPI of at least six companies with Kaufman and Jacobs, his long-term friends. The DOJ reported that Kaufman and Jacobs traded based on Yedid’s tips on at least 17 separate occasions, allegedly enabling Kaufman and Jacobs to collectively generate more than $480,000 and $35,000, respectively, in illegal profits. Federal prosecutors also accused Kaufman of sharing half of his illegal profits with Yedid and deleting spreadsheets that contained information about his illegal profits, which purportedly impeded and obstructed the FBI’s investigation into the defendants.
According to federal prosecutors, Kaufman has pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud conspiracy and one count of obstruction of justice, and Jacobs has pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud conspiracy. Kaufman is currently scheduled to be sentenced on October 7, 2025, while Jacobs’ sentencing has been set for September 18, 2025.
On August 14, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed related civil charges against Yedid, Kaufman and Jacobs for their roles in the insider trading scheme. The SEC charged all three defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. They each reached settlements with the SEC agreeing to be permanently enjoined from engaging in further securities violations. They each also agreed that the amount of disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil money penalties to be paid will be determined by the court at a later date. Yedid additionally agreed to be barred from associating with a broker or dealer and from serving as an officer or director of a public company.
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