former employee of PA-based gambling and casino company charged with insider trading | USAO-EDPA

PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that David Roda, 36, of Philadelphia, PA, has been charged by Criminal Information with insider trading.
Defendant was an employee of Penn Interactive, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Penn National Gaming, Inc., and was its director of back-end architecture. The Information alleges that as such, Roda learned in early July 2021 that Penn National was considering a possible acquisition of Score Media and Gaming, Inc., and knew it had a duty to keep this information confidential. Nonetheless, on July 22, 2021, using this material, nonpublic information, Roda purchased 200 Score Media call option contracts for approximately $13,000. Additionally, after a senior Penn Interactive executive informed Roda in August 2021 that the acquisition would be announced within days, Roda reportedly purchased another 300 Score Media call option contracts for approximately $7,000. The next day, Penn National announced its agreement to acquire Score Media, and Score Media’s stock price rose significantly. The defendant then closed his Score Media call option contracts for approximately $580,000, resulting in personal profits of approximately $560,000.
“Insider trading undermines confidence in our financial markets and hurts ordinary investors who play by the rules,” said US attorney Williams. “As alleged, David Roda placed himself above the law by using information to which he had privileged access to mislead the market and other investors. Our Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners. law to maintain the integrity of financial markets.
“David Roda allegedly exchanged non-public material information and posed as a bandit,” said Jacqueline Maguire, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia division. “Such insider trading is grossly unfair to investors and poses a direct threat to the integrity of our financial markets. The FBI takes this crime seriously, and if you decide the risk of such illegal behavior is worth the potential reward, please know that we will investigate and ensure that you are held accountable.
The case has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Murray. The parallel civil enforcement proceeding was filed by the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, led by Norman Ostrove.
An indictment, information or criminal complaint is an accusation. An accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.