A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently issued an Order and Opinion for a 2024 ruling in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which found that Jack Brewer, a professional football player turned investment advisor, engaged in insider trading. In March of 2024, the judge granted the SEC’s motion for partial summary judgment, and on May 30, 2025, filed an Opinion and Order to provide context and the bases for that ruling.
According to the Order and Opinion, Brewer, who played for the National Football League from approximately 2002 to 2007, obtained extensive securities experience following his retirement from the league. He also founded The Brewer Group, a self-described private investment fund, while still playing for the NFL and reportedly went on to establish several more companies, including Brewer & Associates Consulting, LLC, that he oversaw under the Brewer Group umbrella. In 2015, Brewer & Associates allegedly entered into a business development and marketing services agreement with Copsync Inc., a company that provided in-car information sharing technology to law enforcement agencies and whose common stock was listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market Exchange from approximately 2015 to 2017. Brewer also allegedly entered into a personal endorsement agreement with Copsync in 2016 and received both cash and 200,000 shares of common stock in the company in exchange for his services. While serving as Chief Executive Officer of Brewer & Associates and the public face of Copsync, he allegedly obtained material nonpublic information about the company on a regular basis, including its deteriorating financial condition that eventually forced the company to sell common stock in an effort to avoid being delisted by the NASDAQ. Despite signing an agreement not to transact in the Copsync securities until the offering was announced to the public, there was reportedly evidence to show that, two days before the announcement, Brewer sold 100,000 shares of Copsync stock from his personal brokerage account. The Court found that this action not only violated a duty of trust and confidence owed to Copsync’s shareholders but also a fiduciary duty owed to Copsync. The illegal transaction allegedly enabled Brewer to avoid losses of approximately $35,000.
According to the Order, the parties must file a joint letter proposing next steps in the case by June 9, 2025.
Order and Opinion | SEC Press Release – August 6, 2020 | SEC Complaint