U.S. authorities charge healthcare company Ontrak's boss with insider trading (updated)

Ontrak

01/03/2023 19:16

(Adds detail, attorney reaction)
       WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on
Wednesday charged the head of the health care company Ontrak Inc
 OTRK.O  with insider trading, marking the first criminal case
involving the use of a special trading plan designed to help
shield executives from such charges.
    Ontrak Chairman and CEO Terren Peizer sold more than $20
million of Ontrak stock between May and August 2021 while in
possession of material non-public negative information related
to the company’s largest customer, authorities said.
        In a statement, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth
Polite called the charges a "groundbreaking" effort to prevent
the misuse of so-called 10b5-1 trading plans.
  
        The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also
announced insider trading charges against Peizer in a parallel
action.
  
        Peizer's trading arrangement's helped him avoid more
than $12.5 million in losses, according to the Justice
Department.
  
        Alec Koch, an attorney for Peizer, declined to comment.
  

 (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Diane
Craft)
 ((Kanishka.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +12024508248;))