BOSTON, M.A. – A New Jersey biostatistician has been charged with insider trading after allegedly earning more than $450,000 by using confidential information about a Massachusetts pharmaceutical company’s positive cancer drug trial results to buy company stock ahead of a public announcement, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, 59-year-old Hong Wang of East Brunswick was indicted on three counts of securities fraud. He was arrested at his home and is expected to appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
Prosecutors said Wang worked as a consultant for a Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical firm, identified in court documents as “Company A.” In 2023, while performing consulting work, Wang allegedly gained access to non-public information indicating that the company planned to announce favorable test results for one of its cancer treatment drugs in December of that year.
While in possession of that confidential information, Wang allegedly purchased more than 150,000 shares of the company’s stock across several brokerage accounts he controlled, over a 22-day period leading up to the announcement. After the company’s public disclosure, Wang sold a portion of his holdings and profited by more than $450,000, prosecutors said.
Wang is charged with three counts of securities fraud, each carrying a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $5 million. Sentencing will ultimately be determined by a federal district court judge in accordance with the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a parallel civil complaint against Wang, alleging violations of federal securities laws.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Saltzman of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and investigated by the FBI’s Boston Division.
A New Jersey biostatistician was indicted for insider trading after allegedly using confidential drug trial data from a Massachusetts company to earn more than $450,000 in stock profits.
