On February 10, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that four Illinois residents – Anthony Marsico, Arthur Pizzello, Jr., Robert Quattrocchi, and Timothy Carey – were charged with insider trading for purchasing securities of Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc., a cannabis company doing business as Vireo Growth, Inc., before the company’s impending acquisition was announced in February 2022.
According to the SEC’s complaint, which was filed in the Northern District of Illinois on January 16, 2025, each of the defendants purchased Goodness Growth securities based on material nonpublic information obtained by Marsico, whose employer Verano Holding Corporation, another cannabis company, was planning to acquire Goodness Growth. As an executive with the company, Marsico learned in the course of his employment that Verano was acquiring Goodness Growth in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $413 million. Marsico allegedly shared the MNPI with Pizzello who, then, shared the tip with Quattrocchi and Carey. Following the public announcement, Goodness Growth’s stock price increased by nearly 42 percent enabling each defendant to generate illicit profits. According to the SEC, Marsico attained $661,549 in unrealized gains; Pizzello and Carey attained $124,456 and $9,260, respectively, in unrealized gains; and Quattrocchi acquired realized and unrealized gains of $28,136.
In its complaint, the SEC charged each defendant with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder in connection with the illegal trades. On January 17, 2025, Pizzello and Quattrocchi reached separate settlements with the SEC in which they agreed to be permanently enjoined from future securities violations and were ordered to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties in amounts to be determined by the court at a later date.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois also filed parallel criminal charges against Marsico, Pizzello, Quattrocchi, and Carey in connection with the stock purchases. On January 17, 2025, all four defendants were indicted for conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Marsico was additionally charged with six individual counts of securities fraud. To date, federal prosecutors entered into Agreements to Defer Prosecution with Pizzello and Quattrocchi in exchange for certain admissions regarding the stock purchases. The litigation against Marsico and Carey continues.
SEC Litigation Release | SEC Complaint | Pizzello Judgment| Quattrocchi Judgment| USAO Northern District of Illinois Press Release | Indictment | Agreement to Defer Prosecution – Pizzello | Agreement to Defer Prosecution – Quattrocchi