Yale-Educated BigLaw Lawyer Ran Decade-Long Insider Ring Off Stolen M&A Secrets — 30 Charged

They Traded on Secrets From the Law Firms Hired to Keep Them

The people supposed to guard a company's most sensitive secrets — its M&A lawyers — were the ones cashing in on them. On May 6, 2026, federal prosecutors and the SEC unsealed charges against 30 individuals in a global insider trading conspiracy that ran for roughly a decade.

The Architect

At the center: Nicolo Nourafchan, a Yale Law School graduate who worked between 2013 and 2023 at three of the most prestigious firms in America — Sidley Austin, Latham & Watkins, and Goodwin Procter. According to the SEC, Nourafchan misappropriated material nonpublic information about more than twelve pending corporate transactions handled by his firms' clients.

The Network

Nourafchan funneled the tips to his partner Robert Yadgarov, a personal injury attorney based in Long Beach, New York. Yadgarov and others then traded — or tipped further down a chain of participants who agreed to kick back a portion of their profits. The conspiracy ultimately generated illicit gains tied to nearly 30 corporate deals, totaling tens of millions of dollars.

Why It Matters

The entire system of M&A advisory rests on the assumption that the lawyers inside the deal room won't trade on what they see. This case — 30 charged, 19 arrested — is a documented reminder that the assumption isn't always safe. The SEC named all 21 of its defendants in a litigation release; the DOJ brought parallel criminal charges.

It wasn't a leak from a hacker or an outsider. It was the inside of Big Law, monetized.