By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA – An indictment was unsealed on Tuesday charging current and former minor league baseball players Jordan Qsar, Grant Witherspoon, and Austin Bernard with insider trading in Del Taco, Inc. stocks.
The charges stem from their alleged receipt of advanced notice of the acquisition of Del Taco by Jack in the Box, Inc. on December 6, 2021.
According to the indictment, 28-year-old Qsar learned from a close friend working at Jack in the Box that the company was acquiring Del Taco. The friend, a senior associate in Jack in the Box’s strategic finance department, was involved in the acquisition project. The disclosure of this information was deemed a violation of duties to Jack in the Box and its shareholders.
Qsar allegedly shared the inside information with Witherspoon and Bernard, who had connections to Qsar through collegiate and minor league baseball teams at Pepperdine University and the Tampa Bay Rays.
After learning the inside information, Qsar, 27-year-old Witherspoon, and 28-year-old Bernard purportedly purchased Del Taco stocks, discussed their purchases and shared the inside information with others.
Following the public announcement of the acquisition on December 6, 2021, Del Taco stocks surged from $7.53 to $12.51 per share—a 66 percent increase from the prior trading day’s closing price. Qsar, Witherspoon, and Bernard allegedly sold all their Del Taco stocks in the days following, earning illegal profits of approximately $56,000, $41,800, and $64,600, respectively.
“Insider trading directly affects the integrity of our economy,” stated FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to ensure people who intentionally undermine and threaten our economy will be brought to justice.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Sou is prosecuting the case.
