Two Brooklyn men who worked for a company that processes SEC filing documents were charged with insider trading Friday. Federal prosecutors said they used confidential merger information to illegally profit more than $1 million.
Justin Chen, 31, and Jun Zhen, 29, were arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport as they prepared to board a flight to Hong Kong, according to Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella. Both men worked for EdgarAgents.com, a private company that assists businesses with filing documents through the SEC’s EDGAR system, rather than working directly for the SEC itself.
Federal prosecutors allege the pair engaged in a coordinated trading scheme between March and June 2025, purchasing shares in four companies before merger announcements and selling immediately afterward for significant profits. The targeted companies were Purple Innovation Inc., Ondas Holdings Inc., SigmaTron International Inc., and Signing Day Sports Inc.
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Chen worked as an EDGAR operator and assistant manager, while Zhen served as an EDGAR operator and typeset manager, giving both men early access to confidential corporate announcements before they became public, prosecutors said.
The federal complaint alleges the defendants bought shares before merger announcements and “sold those shares at a significant profit immediately after the announcement.”
The timing of their trades — often executed within hours or minutes of each other — indicated a coordinated effort, prosecutors said. The scheme allegedly netted them more than $1 million in illicit profits from trading on material, non-public information about merger agreements that resulted in significant stock price increases.
Both defendants appeared Saturday before US Magistrate Judge Vera Scanlon, who ordered them held without bail. They face securities fraud charges carrying potential prison sentences of up to 25 years.
EdgarAgents.com was not accused of wrongdoing, and the company has not issued a statement on the matter as of this writing
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