Idaho Corporate Exec Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading
Seth Ratliff
EAGLE, Idaho (KIFI) — A prominent Idaho corporate executive has pleaded guilty to insider trading related to a 2024 corporate acquisition. According to court documents, Michael Smith, 48, of Eagle, Idaho, served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the unnamed Idaho-based company publicly traded on the NASDAQ since approximately 2022.
Smith admitted to using material nonpublic information (MNPI) regarding the acquisition of the unnamed company by another company to profit from the sale of company stock.
Authorities state that after receiving this confidential information, Smith knew that company employees with such access were prohibited from trading. Despite this, he used a brokerage account belonging to an unnamed individual, with whom he had a close personal relationship, to invest in the company’s stock.
Following the corporate acquisition, the unnamed company’s stock increased by nearly 50%. The very next day, Smith sold the shares he had purchased for the unnamed individual, for a profit of approximately $145,754.69. Investigators say that Smith executed the trades specifically to financially benefit this individual.
Smith has pleaded guilty to one count of security fraud, an offense that carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in federal prison. According to the United States Department of Justice, a federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group announced the plea and is currently investigating the case.