Ryan Squillante, 40, of Weston, was sentenced to two months in prison, 18 months of parole, and he must pay a $331,368 fine, the US Attorney for Connecticut said. Squillante pleaded guilty to securities fraud in June.
Squillante worked from home as the head of equity trading for an investment firm in Denver, prosecutors said. In that role, he received confidential details about publicly traded companies.
On 15 occasions between August 2022 and May 2023, Squillante used the private information to make trades for himself. The scheme earned him $220,912, according to court records.
One example stood out in court filings. In February 2023, Squillante learned details about Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Between February 27 and March 2, he “sold short” 38,086 shares at about $3.04 a share.
On March 3, Praxis announced its drug trial failed to meet key goals. After the stock dropped, Squillante “covered” his sale by buying back the shares at about $1.82 each. He made a profit of about $46,421.
Squillante must report to prison on January 7.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
