2025-03-14 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,358 chars

SEC v. Eamma Safi; and Zhi Ge, No. LR-26268, District of Massachusetts (Mar. 14, 2025) — Press Release

raw: Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge a/k/a Josh Ge

Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge a/k/a Josh Ge, No. 1:25-cv-10516 (Mar. 14, 2025)

Caption
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Safi
Source PDF JSON
summary

The SEC charged Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge for an international insider trading scheme that generated over $17.5 million in illicit profits.

paragraph

Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge are accused of participating in an insider trading scheme involving ten corporate announcements that yielded over $17.5 million in illicit profits. The SEC has charged the defendants with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The agency is seeking injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties.

narrative

The SEC has filed charges against German national Eamma Safi and Singaporean national Zhi “Josh” Ge for their roles in an international insider trading scheme operating between 2017 and 2024. According to the complaint, Safi obtained material nonpublic information and tipped Ge and another individual, resulting in over $17.5 million in illicit profits from ten corporate announcements. The participants allegedly used coded and disappearing messages to coordinate trades, and Safi reportedly received kickbacks from the third participant's profits. The SEC is seeking injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties for violations of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts unsealed criminal indictments against both men. The investigation involved the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit with assistance from the FBI and FINRA.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
insider-trading (100%)
Court
District of Massachusetts
Case No.
1:25-cv-10516
Entity
Eamma Safi
Classified insider-trading(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms 4/3/5/144· recall 81% / precision 19%. detection rule →
Statutes
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange ActRule 10b-5
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionEamma SafiZhi Ge
Keywords
safieamma safisecurities exchangetradingsecexchange commissioneammazhijoshsecuritiesexchangemarch securitiesinternational insiderinsider tradingtrading scheme

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $17.50M $17.5 million $10M–$100M
Entities 4
  • person eamma safi
  • scheme_term kickbacks of trading profits from that individual
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • person zhi ge
Triples 10
  • Securities And Exchange Commission filed charges against Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge a/k/a Josh Ge
  • Eamma Safi obtained material nonpublic information and tipped Zhi Ge and another individual recruited by Ge
  • Zhi Ge recruited another individual
  • Eamma Safi demanded and received kickbacks of trading profits from that individual
  • Eamma Safi, Zhi Ge, and other scheme participants used coded and disappearing messages to communicate about their trading
  • Eamma Safi, Zhi Ge, and the other individual made over $17.5 million in illicit profits from trading in advance of ten corporate announcements
  • Securities And Exchange Commission charges Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder
  • Securities And Exchange Commission seeks injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties
  • U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts unsealed criminal indictments against Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge
  • Securities And Exchange Commission appreciates the assistance of U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
PDF (from attached: complaint)
SEC v. EAMMA SAFI and ZHI GE a/k/a JOSH GE · Source
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,358c) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26268 / March 14, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge a/k/a Josh Ge, No. 1:25-cv-10516 (D. Mass. filed Mar. 4, 2025) SEC Charges Foreign Traders in International Insider Trading Scheme On March 4, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against German national, Eamma Safi, and Singaporean national, Zhi “Josh” Ge, for their alleged involvement in an international insider trading scheme that generated millions of dollars in illicit profits from trading in advance of market-moving announcements between 2017 and 2024. According to the SEC’s complaint, Safi allegedly obtained material nonpublic information and tipped Ge and another individual, recruited by Ge, and all three traded profitably on the inside information. Safi allegedly demanded and received kickbacks of trading profits from that individual. The complaint further alleges that Safi, Ge, and other scheme participants used coded and disappearing messages to communicate about their trading. The complaint alleges trading by Safi, Ge and the other individual in advance of ten corporate announcements, and alleges they made over $17.5 million in illicit profits from trading in advance of the announcements. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, charges Safi and Ge with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts unsealed criminal indictments against Safi and Ge on March 4, 2025. The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Sara Kalin, David Bennett, and John Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit, with assistance from the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The case is being supervised by Assistant Director Michele Perillo and Market Abuse Unit Chief Joseph Sansone. The litigation will be led by Michael Foster of the Chicago Regional Office and Rua Kelly of the Boston Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
OCR text (2,358c · html-text · 99% conf) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26268 / March 14, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Eamma Safi and Zhi Ge a/k/a Josh Ge, No. 1:25-cv-10516 (D. Mass. filed Mar. 4, 2025) SEC Charges Foreign Traders in International Insider Trading Scheme On March 4, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against German national, Eamma Safi, and Singaporean national, Zhi “Josh” Ge, for their alleged involvement in an international insider trading scheme that generated millions of dollars in illicit profits from trading in advance of market-moving announcements between 2017 and 2024. According to the SEC’s complaint, Safi allegedly obtained material nonpublic information and tipped Ge and another individual, recruited by Ge, and all three traded profitably on the inside information. Safi allegedly demanded and received kickbacks of trading profits from that individual. The complaint further alleges that Safi, Ge, and other scheme participants used coded and disappearing messages to communicate about their trading. The complaint alleges trading by Safi, Ge and the other individual in advance of ten corporate announcements, and alleges they made over $17.5 million in illicit profits from trading in advance of the announcements. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, charges Safi and Ge with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and seeks injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts unsealed criminal indictments against Safi and Ge on March 4, 2025. The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Sara Kalin, David Bennett, and John Rymas of the Market Abuse Unit, with assistance from the SEC’s Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The case is being supervised by Assistant Director Michele Perillo and Market Abuse Unit Chief Joseph Sansone. The litigation will be led by Michael Foster of the Chicago Regional Office and Rua Kelly of the Boston Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Related documents (1)