Weston Man Pleads Guilty To Securities Fraud In $220K Insider Trading Case

WESTON, — A Weston man has pleaded guilty to securities fraud after federal investigators found he used confidential information from his employer to make more than $220,000 in illegal stock market profits.

Ryan Squillante, 40, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Vernon Oliver in Hartford, according to federal prosecutors. He waived his right to be indicted and admitted to using material non-public information, or MNPI, for personal gain while working remotely as head of equity trading at Irving Investors, an investment firm based in Denver, CO.

According to court records, Squillante conducted 15 unlawful trades between August 2022 and May 2023. One of the more lucrative examples occurred in early 2023 and involved Praxis Precision Medicines Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company listed on NASDAQ.

In late February 2023, after obtaining confidential information about an unsuccessful Praxis drug trial, Squillante shorted more than 38,000 shares of the company’s stock. When the disappointing trial results were announced on March 3, 2023, Squillante covered his short position and netted a profit of more than $46,000, court documents state.

Overall, Squillante’s illegal trading activity generated $220,912 in profit, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 29.