David R. Chase, Esq., principal of the Law Firm of David R. Chase, P.A., was recently quoted in a feature article published by Missouri Lawyers Media titled “Prediction Markets Open Insider Trading Minefield for Corporate Counsel.” The article examines the rapid growth of prediction markets, including platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, and the increasingly...Read More

Few events in life trigger immediate panic like receiving a SEC subpoena or getting an unannounced call from the staff of the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit asking about a particular stock trade you made, whether recently or years ago. These investigations typically originate with an invisible trigger: an automated algorithm at FINRA or the SEC...Read More

For decades, insider trading investigations relied heavily on whistleblowers, referrals from regulatory organizations, and obvious patterns of suspicious, red-flag activity.  Today, the landscape has radically changed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now utilizes advanced market surveillance technology to identify highly suspicious trading patterns across millions of transactions — including a sophisticated analytical platform known...Read More

By David R. Chase, Former SEC Enforcement Attorney and Now SEC Insider Trading Defense Lawyer For many executives, traders, investment advisers, and finance professionals, the first sign of trouble arrives unexpectedly: a subpoena, a call from compliance, a request for documents, or an out-of-the blue contact from SEC enforcement staff itself. By that point, the...Read More

Introduction There are few legal situations that create more stress and uncertainty for investors, corporate insiders, pharma employees, investment bankers, or securities professionals than learning that securities regulators are investigating you for insider trading.  Federal regulators, including the SEC and DOJ, aggressively pursue insider trading cases, and that historical trend appears to be continuing without...Read More

When it comes to SEC insider trading investigations, I have a unique perspective. I have both investigated and prosecuted insider trading cases when I worked for the SEC as an attorney in its enforcement division, and have successfully defended them for over the last twenty-five years as a SEC defense attorney after having left the...Read More

We’re proud to share that David R. Chase was quoted in a recent CBC article examining the growing scrutiny around prediction markets and their role in speculative trading on geopolitical events. In the article, David Chase offered expert insight into how traditional securities law principles—especially around insider trading and fraud—might apply in these emerging platforms as...Read More

Insider trading in the securities markets has been a constant, notwithstanding the SEC’s years long efforts to deter it through investigations and prosecutions. Now, with the proliferation of the prediction markets, including Polymarket and Kalshi, there are increasing concerns that illegal insider trading may be taking place on such platforms potentially threatening their integrity and...Read More

Yes, the Securities and Exchange Commission often relies on electronic communications, like emails, text messages and social media chats to prove insider trading.  In fact, such communications can prove to be critical evidence in establishing some or all of the key elements of an insider trading prosecution: knowledge, intent, relationships and, in some cases, efforts...Read More

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained a final consent judgment against Robert Del Prete, a 38-year-old resident of Brick, New Jersey and former SPAC accounting consultant, for insider trading in the stock of HighCape Capital Acquisition Corp. The SEC Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, charges...Read More