On January 28, 2026, a federal judge in the District of Massachusetts approved a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Brian Suthoff, a Massachusetts resident charged with insider trading. According to the SEC’s complaint, Suthoff traded in the securities of Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company Sage Therapeutics while in possession of material nonpublic information that enabled him to avoid losses of almost $20,000. In June 2023, Suthoff allegedly learned from a Sage insider, on an “extremely restricted” basis, that the approval of a drug intended to treat major depressive disorder (“MDD”) was in jeopardy. According to the SEC, Suthoff misappropriated this MNPI by liquidating all of his Sage shares based on this information, in violation of a duty of trust and confidence he owed to the Sage insider. On August 4, 2023, Sage announced that the drug application had been denied for the treatment of MDD, which caused Sage’s stock price to drop by 53 percent. The SEC alleges that the illegal securities trades enabled Suthoff to avoid losses of $19,680.
The SEC charged Suthoff with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. To resolve the charges, Suthoff consented to the entry of judgment against him without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations. The settlement permanently enjoins him from violating federal securities laws and bars him from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years. Suthoff was also ordered to pay disgorgement of $19,680, prejudgment interest of $3,345.67, and a civil penalty of $19,680 as part of the settlement.