United States of America v. Christopher Matthaei

Trenton, New Jersey, criminal defense lawyers represented the Defendant charged with securities fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371,

Christopher Matthaei, 48, of Brielle, New Jersey, worked as a partner and senior salesperson at a broker-dealer with offices in Red Bank, New Jersey. Matthaei conspired with his then-client and close personal friend, Sean Wygovsky, to engage in an insider trading scheme involving material nonpublic information regarding a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC-1”). Like other SPACs, SPAC-1 was a publicly traded shell company that existed solely for the purpose of merging with another company. After Wygovsky learned through his role as a trader at a Canada-based asset management company that SPAC-1 was engaged in confidential merger discussions with a target company, Wygovsky shared that material nonpublic information with Matthaei on or about May 28, 2020 using an encrypted messaging platform, with the intention that Matthaei would trade on and profit from that nonpublic information. Wygovsky previously pleaded guilty on or about May 25, 2023, to securities fraud related to this scheme.

The Defendant elected to plead guilty.