The Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Justice Department charged a hedge-fund trader for a Canada-based firm over an alleged scheme that involved using information about customer orders for personal trades.
The SEC said Friday it charged Sean Wygovsky, who is a trader at an asset-management firm based in Canada, with violating antifraud provisions of federal securities laws through a front-running scheme that lasted until as recently as April of this year and netted over $3.6 million in illicit gains. The Justice Department charged Mr. Wygovsky with wire fraud and securities fraud tied to the front-running scheme.
The Justice Department said that Mr. Wygovsky was arrested in Austin, Texas, Friday morning. A representative for Mr. Wygovsky didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
While the agencies didn’t name the firm that employed Mr. Wygovsky, a LinkedIn profile for Sean Wygovsky lists him as a senior analyst and trader at Toronto-based Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Polar Asset didn’t respond to requests for comment.
According the Justice Department, Mr. Wygovsky has worked for his company since about 2013. The company has about $19 billion in assets under management.