Market Manipulation. Search

SEC v. Mohit Verma (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.

Report an error in this record (sec-mohit-verma-insider-trading-2026) by email

In January 2026 the Securities and Exchange Commission settled with Mohit Verma, an ImmunityBio research scientist, finding that he bought put options on May 9 and 10, 2023 on knowledge that the FDA would delay approval of Anktiva, and sold after the stock fell about 55 percent, gaining about $41,000. He agreed to a cease-and-desist order, $41,008 in disgorgement, $4,133.85 in interest and a $41,008 penalty, payable in instalments.

The record

Structured fields for this action, as recorded in our case library.
Agency SEC
Release number 34-104651
Date filed 2026-01-21
Date resolved 2026-01-21
Status settled
Asset class equities, options
Venue Nasdaq
Criminal parallel No
Defendants Mohit Verma (individual)
Cited as charged or alleged Exchange Act s.10(b) and Rule 10b-5 (statutes and rules cited in the document; not a finding that they were violated)
Techniques Insider trading

What was ordered

Civil penalty
$41k
Disgorgement
$41k
Prejudgment interest
$4.1k
Total relief
$86.2k
Alleged gain
$41k

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 issued this settled order on January 21, 2026 (Release No. 34-104651).

The order finds he breached a duty of trust and confidence owed to ImmunityBio, charging Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5.

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.

Timeline

  1. 2026-01-21 Administrative proceeding instituted (cease-and-desist)

Primary documents

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

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.

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

Action Agency Filed Technique Penalty Status
SEC v. Trijya Vakil and Neeraj Visen (insider trading, 2026) SEC 2026-09-04 Insider Trading $109k settled
CFTC v. Gabriel Perez (insider trading, 2026) CFTC 2026-08-28 Insider Trading $65k judgment
SEC v. Gavin Wolfe and others (insider trading, 2026) SEC 2026-08-21 Insider Trading — filed
SEC v. Jesse R. Mitchell (insider trading, 2026) SEC 2026-08-21 Insider Trading — filed
SEBI v. Arun Kumar Somani and others (insider trading review, Indian Oil Corporation, 2026) SEBI (India) 2026-08-13 Insider Trading — dismissed
SEC v. Benjamin Tesfaye (insider trading, 2026) SEC 2026-08-11 Insider Trading $18.7k settled

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.