Six people were charged for their participation in a years-long scheme to trade securities based on material non-public information.
Muhammad Saad Shoukat, 33, his brothers Muhammad Arham Shoukat, 35, and Muhammad Shahwaiz Shoukat, 36—all dual-U.S. and Pakistani citizens—and his friends Daniyal Khan, 33, a dual-U.K. and Pakistani citizen, and Izunna Okonkwo, 33, a dual-U.S. and Nigerian citizen, were charged in a complaint that was unsealed.
Gyunho Justin Kim, 32, of San Francisco, California, was charged in a separate complaint and made an initial appearance before the Honorable Michael A. Hammer, United States Magistrate Judge, on December 12, 2025.
“As alleged, the defendants engaged in insider trading and market manipulation on a massive scale—using stolen information, falsified data, and fake press releases to mislead investors and enrich themselves. This Office will continue to pursue complex financial fraud schemes that threaten the fairness and transparency of our markets and harm individual investors.”
- Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello
Gyunho Justin Kim (“Kim”), 32, of San Francisco, California, was charged in a separate complaint and made an initial appearance before the Honorable Michael A. Hammer, United States Magistrate Judge, on December 12, 2025.
“The FBI takes allegations of insider trading with the utmost seriousness,” said FBI Newark Special Agent in Charge, Stefanie Roddy. “Shoukat and his co-conspirators benefitted greatly from their years-long scheme, and cheated the system to reap their rewards. As complex as a financial fraud scheme is, the FBI will endeavor to stay one step ahead of these alleged criminals.”
The charges in this case arise from three overlapping securities fraud schemes that occurred at various points from June 2020 through February 2024: (i) a multi-million-dollar insider trading scheme; (ii) a scheme to manipulate the stock price of a biopharmaceutical company developing a treatment for breast cancer; and (iii) a scheme to manipulate the stock price of a different biopharmaceutical company seeking to prevent opioid overdoses.
The Insider Trading Scheme
Kim worked at an investment bank that was actively involved in multiple mergers and acquisitions of publicly traded healthcare and biopharmaceutical companies. Kim obtained MNPI about many of these pending deals, either by working on deals directly or from others who did. Kim illegally shared MNPI about at least nine of these deals with Saad Shoukat, who traded on that information by himself and through others.
Saad Shoukat also tipped off others—including Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, and Okonkwo—who similarly traded and profited from the MNPI. Overall, Saad Shoukat and his co-conspirators received illicit profits from the Insider Trading Scheme totaling at least $41 million.
Olema Manipulation Scheme
Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others actively manipulated the stock price of Olema, a publicly traded company. Olema focused on developing breast cancer treatment through a drug called OP-1250. From the spring of 2021, Saad Shoukat and Arham Shoukat began investing in Olema stock and encouraged others to invest in it. After buying substantial stock in Olema, Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others accessed confidential information showing that OP-1250 was less effective than Saad Shoukat and Arham Shoukat had hoped.
Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others then falsified the OP-1250 data that the co-conspirators had illegally accessed and publicly disseminated it in a manner that made it look like the data was real and came from Olema. The release of the false data—which inflated the drug’s efficacy—temporarily caused Olema’s stock price to increase, during which Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and others profited and avoided losses by selling large numbers of shares in Olema stock.
Opiant Manipulation Scheme
Saad Shoukat, his brothers, and others also manipulated the stock price of Opiant, another publicly traded company. Opiant was developing an opioid overdose treatment. Kim provided MNPI to Saad Shoukat about a company seeking to acquire Opiant.
Based on that MNPI, Saad Shoukat and others bought Opiant stock. But that potential acquisition stalled, and Saad Shoukat and others were stuck with their stock purchases. In response, in or around April 2022, Saad Shoukat, his brothers, and others—using a fake Opiant website and fake Opiant email addresses that appeared legitimate—caused the publication of a fake press release announcing a purported merger and acquisition involving Opiant and another company. The fake press release drove up Opiant’s stock approximately 29%. Saad Shoukat, his brothers, and others profited by selling off shares during that spike, causing substantial losses to victim investors.
If convicted, the defendants face the following maximum sentences:
- Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, Okonkwo, and Kim face a maximum of 25 years in prison.
- Conspiracy to Commit Insider Trading: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, Okonkwo, and Kim face five years in prison.
- Securities Fraud: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, Okonkwo, and Kim face five years in prison.
- Insider trading: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, Okonkwo, and Kim face 20 years in prison.
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, Okonkwo, and Kim face 20 years in prison.
- Wire fraud: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, Shahwaiz Shoukat, Khan, Okonkwo, and Kim face 20 years in prison.
- Conspiracy to commit market manipulation: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and Shahwaiz Shoukat face 25 years in prison.
- Conspiracy to commit market manipulation fraud: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and Shahwaiz Shoukat face 25 years in prison.
- Conspiracy to commit market manipulation fraud: Saad Shoukat and Arham Shoukat face 25 years in prison
- Conspiracy to commit market manipulation fraud: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and Shahwaiz Shoukat face 20 years in prison
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud: Saad Shoukat and Arham Shoukat face 20 years in prison
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud: Saad Shoukat, Arham Shoukat, and Shahwaiz Shoukat face 20 years in prison.
Senior Counsel Lamparello credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Barchini of the Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit and Aaron Webman, Deputy Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
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