Defendants Shared Inside Information Obtained from Investment Banks and Fraudulently Traded in Advance of Multiple Public Offerings, Making Over $1 Million in Profit
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, John Lowe and Richard Ringel pleaded guilty to securities fraud for their involvement in a multi-year insider trading scheme. Co-defendants David Cooper, a broker registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and Randy Grewal pleaded guilty to securities fraud on September 22, 2025 and April 30, 2026, respectively. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl. When sentenced, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Pete Gizas, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York); and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, New York Division (USPIS), announced the guilty pleas.
“For years, the defendants brazenly exploited their access to inside information to gain an unfair advantage over the investing public,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Insider trading destroys the public’s faith in the fairness and integrity of our markets. This Office is committed to protecting market integrity and rooting out bad actors, and it will continue to hold accountable those who engage in insider trading.”
Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
“By admitting they conspired to steal confidential information from investment banks and trade ahead of multiple secondary stock offerings, these defendants have acknowledged a years-long scheme that corrupted the markets for their own gain and generated more than a million dollars in illicit profit,” stated HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Gizas. “Insider trading erodes public confidence in our financial system, harms everyday investors who play by the rules, and sends a dangerous message that the wealthy and well connected can tilt the playing field in their favor. HSI New York, through meticulous financial analysis, a range of investigative techniques, and close coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, will continue working alongside our law enforcement and regulatory partners to uncover complex financial crimes and ensure those who abuse access to sensitive information are held to account.”
“These individuals used their access to confidential information not available to the trading public to devise a scheme for their financial gain, profiting from MNPI. Let me be clear, it does not matter the type of scheme, postal inspectors will remain dedicated to exposing and bringing to justice anyone utilizing the U.S. mail to further criminal activity,” stated USPIS Inspector in Charge Larco-Ward.
As detailed in the indictment and other court filings, between approximately January 2018 and May 2024, the defendants conspired to obtain material non-public information (MNPI) about upcoming secondary stock offerings and to trade on that MNPI in advance of those offerings. The defendants illegally obtained MNPI from numerous sources, including through Cooper and another employee of a broker-dealer (Broker-Dealer), who had obtained MNPI from investment banks involved in and underwriting the secondary stock offerings. The MNPI included specific deal information such as the identity of the public company issuing the secondary offering; the timing of the deal; the structure of the deal; and the price at which the company would offer its stock in the upcoming offering. Employees of the Broker-Dealer breached their duty of confidentiality to their employer by improperly disclosing the MNPI to Lowe, Ringel and others with knowledge that they intended to use the information to execute short sales in advance of the public announcement of the secondary offerings. Employees of the Broker-Dealer shared the MNPI to induce their customers, including Lowe and Ringel, to commit to buy shares in the offerings so that the Broker-Dealer would receive compensation from the underwriters. Lowe, in turn, passed MNPI to Grewal. Lowe, Ringel and Grewal illegally profited more than $1 million from trading based on MNPI.
Evidence obtained from judicially authorized wiretaps revealed that in connection with numerous secondary offerings between approximately January 2023 and May 2023, Cooper and another employee of the Broker-Dealer (Co-Conspirator #1) obtained MNPI from investment firms that were underwriting the secondary offerings and provided MNPI to Lowe, Ringel and others, with knowledge that Lowe, Ringel and others intended to trade securities in advance of secondary offerings based on the MNPI. Those secondary offerings included the companies Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSSE), Revelation Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: REVB) and Tivic Health Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVC).
Fraudulent Trading on MNPI in the CSSE Secondary Offering
On or about March 30, 2023, Cooper obtained MNPI about the timing and pricing of the CSSE offering from the sole managing underwriter for the deal and shared that information with Ringel, who traded in CSSE in advance of the offering using the information, and with Co-Conspirator #1, who gave the inside information to Lowe. Lowe traded based on the MNPI and tipped Grewal, who also traded using the MNPI.
Fraudulent Trading on MNPI in the REVB Secondary Offering
Between February 6, 2023 and February 8, 2023, Lowe obtained MNPI about the timing of the REVB offering from a representative of the sole underwriter on the deal and passed it to Grewal, who traded in REVB using the information. Between February 7, 2023 and February 9, 2023, Ringel traded REVB based on MNPI that Cooper received from another representative of the sole underwriter on the deal.
Fraudulent Trading on MNPI in the TIVC Secondary Offering
On or about February 6, 2023, Cooper called a representative of the sole managing underwriter for the TIVC offering. The next day, Co-Conspirator #1 communicated to Lowe that TIVC intended to offer shares of its stock in a secondary offering. After learning this information, Lowe traded in TIVC and passed the MNPI he received from Co-Conspirator #1 to Grewal, who then also traded in TIVC. Between February 6, 2023 and February 8, 2023, Ringel and Cooper spoke over the telephone numerous times and Cooper executed a number of short sales in TIVC. In particular, on February 8, 2023 (after Co-Conspirator shared MNPI about the TIVC deal with Lowe), Cooper spoke with Co-Conspirator #1 and then with Ringel. Approximately six minutes after Ringel and Cooper spoke, Ringel executed additional short sales in TIVC.
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The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section and the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica K. Weigel, Adam R. Toporovsky and Sophia M. Suarez are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Laura Mansour. Assistant United States Attorney Laura Mantell of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Section is handling forfeiture matters.
The Defendants:
JOHN LOWE (also known as “Clams”)
Age: 63
Sayville, New York
RICHARD RINGEL
Age: 56
Boca Raton, Florida
Co-Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:
DAVID COOPER
Age: 40
Larchmont, New York
RANDY GREWAL
Age: 55
Anthem, Arizona
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-10 (DG)
