Ex-Pro Soccer Player Accused of $2.7M Insider Trading Scheme Using Girlfriend's Laptop

A former professional soccer player has been charged with securities fraud for allegedly making $2.7 million by trading on confidential information obtained from his girlfriend's work laptop, federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced.

Justin Jennings, 27, is accused of misappropriating sensitive information about deals involving multiple companies, including Apollo Global Management. Prosecutors allege that Jennings, who had a brief stint playing in Latvia's second-tier professional league, accessed a confidential database on the woman's computer to execute well-timed trades based on nonpublic information concerning eight companies.

Prosecutors stated that while Jennings and the woman dated for over two years, she shared her laptop passwords and online service credentials. Jennings allegedly exploited this access to view confidential draft press releases and internal memos related to pending corporate announcements when his girlfriend stepped away from her computer. He would then allegedly acquire stock options before the news became public and sell them within hours for a profit.

One of the most lucrative trades, according to the indictment, occurred in July 2023. Jennings allegedly invested approximately $105,000 in bets that a company's stock would decline after reading an unreleased earnings miss. The following morning, after the stock dropped, he reportedly sold for a $985,000 profit.

Other alleged profitable trades include an $859,000 gain from a truck-stop chain's buyout in February 2023, $374,550 from a takeover the following year, and $356,000 from a deal involving an electric-vehicle charging company.

The PR firm allegedly targeted in the scheme has not been officially named by prosecutors, but sources close to the case identified it as Joele Frank, a prominent Wall Street communications firm. Joele Frank confirmed in a statement that the firm worked with authorities and stated that the charges involved an individual exploiting a personal relationship with a former junior employee, with no allegations against the firm or any current or former employee.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a parallel civil lawsuit against Jennings and his investment firm, Vortex Strategies, for alleged unlawful insider trading. The SEC is seeking to recover Jennings' profits, along with interest and penalties.

Jennings, who retired from professional soccer in late 2021, reportedly worked in property management and freelance coding before establishing himself as a data-science entrepreneur. Prosecutors noted that he had no prior experience in finance. If convicted of securities fraud, Jennings could face up to 25 years in prison. The FBI's Newark office led the investigation.