The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that insider trading charges were filed against Justin Jennings, a New Jersey resident, and Wyoming-based Vortex Strategies LLC, a company that he allegedly owned and controlled. According to the SEC’s complaint, Jennings engaged in a scheme in which he traded in securities based on material nonpublic information (“MNPI”) that he allegedly misappropriated from his romantic partner.
According to the SEC, Jennings’ romantic partner, at the time, was an account executive who worked for an unnamed strategic communications and investor relations firm. Between February 2022 through October 2024, Jennings allegedly used his romantic partner’s work-issued laptop without her knowledge or authorization to access confidential information from her employer, including MNPI regarding mergers and acquisitions, earnings announcements, and other significant corporate events involving the firm’s public-company clients. Based on the MNPI obtained, Jennings allegedly used both his personal brokerage account and a Vortex account to buy securities of eight public companies before major corporate disclosures. He allegedly generated about $2.7 million in illicit profits from the scheme.
The SEC’s complaint, which was filed on June 23, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges that he violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.
On the same day, federal prosecutors in the District of New Jersey announced that Jennings had been indicted on parallel criminal charges for his role in the scheme. He is charged with one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme, eight counts of securities fraud for insider trading, and two counts of transacting in criminal proceeds. Jennings is currently scheduled to be arraigned for the criminal charges on July 15, 2026.
SEC Litigation Release | SEC Complaint | USAO DNJ Press Release | Indictment | Docket Minute Entry – Arraignment