This story has been updated to show Ryan Squillante no longer works for Twin Oak Capital.
HARTFORD –
A Weston man waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Friday, June 6, before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to an insider trading offense, according to David X. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Ryan Squillante, 40, of Weston, while working from his home, material non-public information for his own benefit in buying equities where he made $220,912. On 15 different occasions between August 2022 and May 2023 Squillante executed security transactions while working as head of equity trading at Irving Investors in Denver.
As an example, in February 2023, Squillante received insider information about Praxis Precision Medicines Inc., a NASDAQ-traded biopharmaceutical company. He then shorted 38,036 shares of the stock between Feb. 27 and March 2, 2023, at an average price per share of approximately $3.04. On March 3, 2023, before the market opened, Praxis announced poor results from its drug trial, stating that the drug’s effects did not achieve its primary endpoint with statistical significance. Following the announcement, Squillante “covered” his short sale by purchasing the Praxis shares at an average price per share of approximately $1.82, making a profit of approximately $46,421.
According to clay.earth, Squillante was a finance professional who served as a TMT analyst and market strategist at Twin Oak Capital, which is part of Millennium Management LLC. He has a diverse background in finance, having previously worked with various investment firms including Irving Investors and Hutchin Hill. His recent career move included taking on the role of Head of North America at Toscafund Asset Management.
Squillante pleaded guilty to securities fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for Aug. 29.
