BOSTON – A Rhode Island man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for trading on inside information about a Massachusetts company’s planned acquisition of a California semiconductor company.
John Younis, 59, of Bristol, R.I., was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to one month of home detention and two years of probation. The government recommended a sentence of six months in prison and six months of home detention. On March 23, 2022, Younis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud.
In January 2022, Younis was charged with co-defendants David Forte and Gregory Manning.
According to the charging documents, Younis was a close friend of co-conspirator David Forte, whose relative was a senior executive at Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), a Norwood-based semiconductor company. Beginning in or around June 2016, Forte allegedly obtained material non-public information from his relative about ADI’s planned acquisition of Linear Technology Corp. (Linear), a semiconductor company based in Milpitas, Calif. Forte allegedly passed the information to Younis, who purchased over 1,100 shares of Linear stock and call options (bets that the price of a stock will increase prior to the expiration of the option) in the week leading up to the public announcement of the acquisition on July 26, 2016. Younis also tipped a business associate who allegedly purchased 1,000 Linear shares. After the deal was announced, Younis and his associate sold their Linear securities at a profit. In total, Younis profited nearly $52,000 from the scheme.
Forte and Manning have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. The Securities & Exchange Commission provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.