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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has added to the legal problems of former Polar Asset Management Inc. trader Sean Wygovsky, filing insider trading charges against him. The SEC says that Mr. Wygovsky tipped a friend about seven mergers before the news became public, sending the tips through encrypted messages. Mr. Wygovsky's friend then used the information to generate $3.42-million in illegal profits, with the men using some of the money for a luxury trip, the SEC claims. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

The charges come with Mr. Wygovsky, who worked in Toronto, awaiting sentencing in the U.S. for a front-running scheme. Prosecutors in New York previously claimed that he placed orders ahead of hundreds of client trades, profiting from the bumps or dips that the orders caused. He generated $3.6-million in gains through his front-running trades. Mr. Wygovsky pleaded guilty and is free on a $1-million bond.

The present case is set out in a civil complaint that the SEC filed on March 30, 2023, in the District of New Jersey. The complaint identifies Mr. Wygovsky, 42, as a trader at Polar Asset Management (which the SEC only refers to as the "Asset Manager") from 2013 to 2021. Also a defendant is Christopher Matthaei, 44, who worked at a brokerage in New Jersey until early 2022.

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