SEC v. Benjamin Tesfaye (insider trading, 2026)

Settled

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 3, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

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In August 2026 the Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Benjamin Tesfaye of Texas, who allegedly traded Calliditas Therapeutics securities in his own and a relative's accounts ahead of the May 28, 2024 announcement of Asahi Kasei's tender offer, on information misappropriated from his romantic partner at an Asahi Kasei subsidiary, earning $18,668. He consented, subject to court approval, to an injunction, $18,668 in disgorgement, $2,168 in interest and an equal penalty.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

$18.7k

Disgorgement

$18.7k

Prejudgment interest

$2.2k

Total relief

$39.5k

Alleged gain

$18.7k

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.

What is alleged to have happened

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced this matter on August 11, 2026 as release LR-26609, filing in the Northern District of Texas the same day.

His partner's role included assessing Calliditas's compliance program for the acquisition. Sections 10(b) and 14(e) and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 are charged.

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. 2026-08-11 Litigation release published

Primary documents

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

• SEC litigation release

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. 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.