Boise Man Pleads Guilty To Insider Trading

BOISE – U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Bart M. Davis announced today that Michael Christensen pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with insider trading based on material, nonpublic information that he misappropriated from an executive at a publicly traded company headquartered in Idaho.   

According to court documents, Michael Christensen, 52, of Boise, had a close personal relationship with an executive of Company-1. On August 4, 2024, the executive texted Christensen: “Watch for the headlines Wednesday morning.”  Christensen understood this text to be material, nonpublic information, and that a positive development would occur in connection with Company-1 in the coming days. On the basis of this information, Christensen purchased 4,900 Company-1 shares for approximately $99,350.27.  Christensen did not inform the executive that he had purchased these shares. 

On August 7, 2024, Company-1 and Company-2 publicly announced an acquisition of Company-1 by Company-2, after which Company-1’s stock price increased significantly.  Christensen then sold his Company-1 stock and illegally profited approximately $49,609.73 from the sale of the 4,900 Company-1 shares.  In doing so, Christensen knowingly and willfully misappropriated confidential, material, nonpublic information that he received from the senior executive at Company-1 for securities trading purposes.

Christensen pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud, and he is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15.  Christensen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group (USPIS-CI) is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Mazorol for the District of Idaho and Trial Attorney Kyle Crawford of the Criminal Division’s White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section are prosecuting the case.

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