The Department of Justice has accused a former cannabis company executive of allegedly using and sharing insider information to trade.
The indictment sees former Verano Vice President Anthony Marsico facing charges for insider trading in a rival Minnesota cannabis company before its planned takeover by Verano back in 2022.
In a federal court in Chicago, Marsico was charged with using the insider information to purchase more than 900,000 shares in the rival company’s stock, which resulted in illegal profits of approximately $607,338, according to the DOJ.
He also tipped off a friend, Arthur Pizzello, who passed on the information to two others, and all three also purchased stock, it has been alleged.
All four defendants are described as “social friends” who “played golf together at a private country club”, the indictment states.
Before it was publicly announced that the potential acquisition was cancelled, Marsico sold all the rival company stock he had just obtained.
At the time of publishing, Verano Holdings (OTCMKTS: VRNOF) sits at US$1.16, a 3.32% drop from its previous close, with a market cap of $417.602 million.