OSC v. Benedict Cheng and others (insider trading, 2017)

Settled

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In 2017 the Ontario Securities Commission charged Benedict Cheng, John David Rothstein, Frank Soave and Eric Tremblay in a tipping and insider trading case about Amaya Gaming. Cheng, Rothstein and Tremblay settled, Cheng agreeing to a C$350,000 penalty and C$50,000 in costs; the Tribunal dismissed the case against Soave in February 2019.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

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Disgorgement

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Prejudgment interest

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Total relief

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Alleged gain

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Penalty as published

C$350k

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars. This regulator states penalties in CAD. The figure is recorded as published and is not converted, so it does not appear in the USD totals or medians used elsewhere on this site.

What is alleged to have happened

The Ontario Securities Commission issued its notice of hearing on April 12, 2017. Rothstein settled that April, Cheng settled in June 2018 and Tremblay also settled; the contested case against Soave was decided on February 4, 2019.

Cheng, co-chief investment officer and a portfolio manager at Aston Hill Asset Management, learned undisclosed material facts about Amaya Gaming Group through its financing and told Rothstein before they were public, and suggested he pass them to Soave. Cheng also made misleading statements to Staff when examined and disclosed the confidential summons he had received.

Cheng's settlement carries a C$350,000 administrative penalty and C$50,000 in costs. The Tribunal found Staff had not proved that Soave knew or should have known Rothstein was in a special relationship with Amaya, and dismissed the proceeding against him. The earlier record showed the whole matter as dismissed and a C$125,000 figure that does not match Cheng's settlement.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Insider trading — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2017-11-15 Reasons and Decision
2. 2018-01-10 Reasons and Decision
3. 2018-01-10 Reasons and Decision
4. 2018-01-17 Reasons and Decision
5. 2018-02-14 Reasons and Decision
6. 2018-02-15 Reasons and Decision
7. 2018-03-16 Reasons and Decision
8. 2018-03-19 Reasons and Decision
9. 2018-04-11 Reasons and Decision
10. 2018-06-12 Settlement Agreement
11. 2018-06-13 Notice of Hearing
12. 2018-06-15 Other

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• Tribunal proceeding
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Reasons and Decision
• Settlement Agreement
• Notice of Hearing

The linked release is published by the issuing regulator under its own terms. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.