SEC v. Fernando Passos, No. LR-26493, Southern District of New York (Feb. 26, 2026) — Press Release
raw: Fernando Passos
Fernando Passos, No. 1:22-cv-03156 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 26, 2026)
summary
Fernando Passos, a former IRB Brasil Resseguros executive, secured a final consent judgment for inflating stock prices through false claims of a Berkshire Hathaway investment.
paragraph
Fernando Passos, the former EVP of finance at IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A., faced SEC charges for fabricating documents to falsely claim Berkshire Hathaway had invested in the company. The fraud caused stock prices to rise 6 percent before plummeting 40 percent following Berkshire's denial. Passos agreed to a final judgment including a $500,000 civil penalty and a permanent bar from serving as a public company officer or director.
narrative
Fernando Passos, the former executive vice president of finance and investor relations at Brazilian reinsurance company IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A., entered a final consent judgment to resolve SEC fraud charges. To counter a short seller's report, Passos allegedly fabricated a shareholder list and disseminated false media stories claiming Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had made a substantial investment in IRB. This scheme initially drove the stock price up by 6 percent, but caused a subsequent 40 percent drop once Berkshire publicly denied any involvement. Passos was charged with violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, specifically Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5. Without admitting or denying the allegations, he agreed to a $500,000 civil penalty and a permanent bar from serving as an officer or director of a public company. The final judgment was entered by the court on February 25, 2026.
Classified market-manipulation(confidence 97%). EDGAR detection: forms SC 13D/G/13F· recall 53% / precision 9%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionFernando Passos
Keywords
passosirbfernando passossecurities exchangesecsecuritiesberkshirefernandoexchangefinalfalseexchange commissionfinal consententry finalmade substantial
Exhibits & Attached Documents (2)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $500K $500,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 3
- person fernando passos
- company fernando passos from serving as officer or director of public company
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
Triples 11
- Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final consent judgment Fernando Passos
- Fernando Passos planted false story media claiming Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had invested in IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A.
- Fernando Passos disseminated false documents claiming Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had invested in IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A.
- Fernando Passos fabricated shareholder list showing Berkshire Hathaway Inc. made substantial purchases of IRB stock
- Fernando Passos made false statements to at least four investors and one securities analyst about Berkshire's investment in IRB
- IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A. rose in stock price by more than 6 percent after false Berkshire news report
- IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A. dropped in stock price by more than 40 percent after Berkshire denied investment
- Securities And Exchange Commission imposed civil penalty $500,000 on Fernando Passos
- Securities And Exchange Commission permanently enjoined Fernando Passos from violating Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5
- Securities And Exchange Commission barred Fernando Passos from serving as officer or director of public company
- Fernando Passos consented to final judgment entered on February 25, 2026
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,217c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26493 / February 26, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Fernando Passos, Civ. Action, No. 1:22-cv-03156 (S.D.N.Y. filed Apr. 18, 2022)SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Senior Executive of Brazilian Company Charged with FraudThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced today the entry of a final consent judgment as to Fernando Passos in the SEC’s civil enforcement action that charged Passos, the former executive vice president of finance and investor relations of Brazilian reinsurance company IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A., for allegedly planting a false story with the media and disseminating false documents claiming that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had recently made a substantial investment in IRB.According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in New York, Passos, in an effort to boost IRB’s stock price following a short seller’s report questioning IRB’s financial results, fabricated and shared with others a shareholder list that showed Berkshire had made substantial purchases of IRB stock. Passos also allegedly made false and misleading statements to at least four investors and one securities analyst concerning Berkshire’s purported investment in IRB. According to the complaint, IRB’s stock price rose by more than 6 percent after the media reported the false Berkshire news, and subsequently dropped by more than 40 percent after Berkshire’s public denial that it had ever invested, or intended to invest, in IRB.Without admitting or denying the allegations, Passos consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, barring him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, and imposing a civil penalty of $500,000. The final judgment was entered by the Court on February 25, 2026.The SEC’s litigation against Passos was conducted by Zachary Carlyle and Jodanna Haskins and supervised by Gregory Kasper and Nicholas Heinke, all of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jeffrey Lyons and supervised by Ian Karpel.
OCR text (2,217c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26493 / February 26, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Fernando Passos, Civ. Action, No. 1:22-cv-03156 (S.D.N.Y. filed Apr. 18, 2022)SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Senior Executive of Brazilian Company Charged with FraudThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced today the entry of a final consent judgment as to Fernando Passos in the SEC’s civil enforcement action that charged Passos, the former executive vice president of finance and investor relations of Brazilian reinsurance company IRB Brasil Resseguros S.A., for allegedly planting a false story with the media and disseminating false documents claiming that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had recently made a substantial investment in IRB.According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in federal district court in New York, Passos, in an effort to boost IRB’s stock price following a short seller’s report questioning IRB’s financial results, fabricated and shared with others a shareholder list that showed Berkshire had made substantial purchases of IRB stock. Passos also allegedly made false and misleading statements to at least four investors and one securities analyst concerning Berkshire’s purported investment in IRB. According to the complaint, IRB’s stock price rose by more than 6 percent after the media reported the false Berkshire news, and subsequently dropped by more than 40 percent after Berkshire’s public denial that it had ever invested, or intended to invest, in IRB.Without admitting or denying the allegations, Passos consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, barring him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, and imposing a civil penalty of $500,000. The final judgment was entered by the Court on February 25, 2026.The SEC’s litigation against Passos was conducted by Zachary Carlyle and Jodanna Haskins and supervised by Gregory Kasper and Nicholas Heinke, all of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jeffrey Lyons and supervised by Ian Karpel.