A former Morgan Stanley broker was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a multi-million dollar insider trading scheme, according to federal prosecutors.
Michael Siva, who had
Siva, 57, of Morristown, New Jersey, had been registered with Morgan Stanley from 1996 until his termination in August 2017 from the firm for allegedly engaging in insider trading, according to a note from the wirehouse on
From August 2013 through May 2017, Siva and his alleged co-conspirators made $5 million in illicit profits off misappropriated information originally provided by an investment banker, Daniel Rivas, according to federal prosecutors.
Mark Pinsky is president and founder of CDFI Friendly America. He previously served as president and CEO of the Opportunity Finance Network and Current.
Oswaldo Acosta is CEO of City First Enterprises, a Washington, D.C., community Development Financial Institution.
Mike joined Simply Business in April 2018 and is Vice President of Insurance Panel and Partnerships and a member of the US Executive Leadership Team. In his role, Mike is responsible for driving product growth with new and existing panel insurance carriers as well as expanding Simply Business's distribution reach through strategic partners. Collaborating with insurance carriers, Mike's team helps bring new insurance products to market that benefit business owners while meeting small business customers where they are via distribution partnerships.
Mike brings 20 years of commercial property and casualty experience to Simply Business, having had previous underwriting and distribution roles at Liberty Mutual Insurance. Mike earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Bentley University in 2003 and his CPCU designation in 2009. Mike resides in the Greater Boston area with his wife and two sons.
Rivas was a technology consultant at an investment bank where he used the bank’s internal proprietary system to gain access to material, nonpublic information about potential and unannounced M&A deals, according to prosecutors. Rivas and another individual, James Moodhe, pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, prosecutors say. Authorities did not name the investment bank where Rivas worked.
Rivas passed on tips to Moodhe, the father of a woman he was dating at the time, and other individuals, prosecutors say. Moodhe, in turn, passed these on to Siva who used the tips to place trades in his clients’ brokerage accounts, as well as on his own behalf, according to prosecutors.
“Siva committed insider trading to make himself look like a talented stock selector,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement.
To avoid detection, Siva and Moodhe used code phrases on the telephone or met in person at diners outside of New York, according to authorities. Siva also told Moodhe to mark trades “solicited” in his firm’s online trading system “so that it would appear that Siva had directed the trades as opposed to the suggestion coming from Moodhe,” prosecutors say.
In addition to illicit profits he earned off his own trades, Siva also earned commissions off trades he placed in client’s brokerage accounts, according to authorities.
The U.S. Attorney’s office credited the FBI and the SEC for their assistance in investigating the case.
The SEC, which is pursuing a separate civil case against Siva,
In addition to prison time, Siva was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $35,000.
Attorneys representing Siva and Rivas could not be reached for comment. An attorney representing Moodhe declined to comment on the case.
