Former CISO Of Lumentum Charged By SEC With Insider Trading For Tipping Friends Of Ahead Of Acquisitions
The SEC alleges that the former CISO of Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) Amit Bhardwaj, and his friends, Dhirenkumar Patel, Srinivasa Kakkera, Abbas Saeedi, and Ramesh Chitor, traded ahead of two corporate acquisition announcements by Lumentum, thereby generating more than $5.2 million in illicit profits.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that, through his work at Lumentum, Bhardwaj learned material nonpublic information (MNPI) about the company’s plans to first acquire Coherent, Inc. and later acquire NeoPhotonics Corporation. Based on this MNPI, Bhardwaj allegedly purchased Coherent securities ahead of the January 2021 announcement of Lumentum’s agreement to acquire Coherent and tipped his friend Patel, with the understanding that Patel would later share some of his ill-gotten gains. The SEC further alleges that, during October 2021, Bhardwaj shared MNPI about Lumentum’s planned acquisition of NeoPhotonics with his friends Kakkera, Saeedi, and Chitor, who then amassed large positions of NeoPhotonics based on Bhardwaj’s tips. After the November 2021 announcement of the NeoPhotonics acquisition, Chitor indirectly transferred funds to Bhardwaj’s relative in India, as instructed by Bhardwaj.
In addition to the relief described above, the SEC’s complaint seeks disgorgement of illicit profits with prejudgment interest from relief defendants Gauri Salwan, the Kakkera Family Trust, All US Tacos Inc., and Janya Saeedi. The case was investigated by Ann Marie Preissler, Joshua Geller, John Rymas, and Simona Suh of the MAU, and by Elzbieta Wraga of the New York Regional Office (NYRO). Ms. Preissler, Mr. Geller, and Ms. Suh will lead the SEC’s litigation.
