A ring of elite corporate lawyers were accused of illegally trading on inside info about blockbuster deals over a decade, using a bizarre code that referred to one merger as a “rabbi” and raking in tens of millions of dollars in ill-gotten profits, according to federal prosecutors.
Nicolo Nourafchan, a former mergers-and-acquisitions attorney at Goodwin and Latham, was accused of raiding confidential law-firm databases for secret deal documents tied to at least two dozen corporate transactions.
According to indictments unsealed Wednesday in Boston federal court, Nourafchan, 43, and associate Robert Yadgarov, 45, built a massive insider-trading pipeline that netted them a fortune by trading ahead of major acquisitions involving companies including Anadarko Petroleum, Care.com, Enstar Group, iRobot, KnowBe4, Qualcomm, SailPoint and Tim Hortons.
The ring allegedly tried to hide their plans with code words like “rabbi,” “doctor” and “surgery.”
Prosecutors said alleged conspirator Simon Fensterszaub, 50, asked at one point, “I really need to know when the rabbi is scheduled for surgery” — a reference to a pending deal — following up with, “How’s the rabbi?”
Alleged conspirator Gavryel Silverstein, 43, replied, “He’s stable,” according to authorities, who said the response was meant to convey that an expected acquisition announcement would take place as planned.
Pending corporate takeovers and trading opportunities were allegedly described as “flights,” with traders alerting associates when a deal was “taking off” and telling them to get their “passport ready.” Insiders themselves were allegedly referred to as “travel agents” and “pilots.”
“We cannot miss this boat!!” Fensterszaub wrote while discussing an upcoming deal, according to prosecutors.
The indictments do not name the law firms Nourafchan and Yadgarov allegedly targeted for insider information. But Bloomberg News identified the firms as including Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Latham & Watkins and Goodwin Procter, citing transaction details and employment histories laid out in the indictments.
The alleged scheme stretched from around 2014 through 2024 and ultimately involved 30 defendants across two federal indictments.
Prosecutors said 19 of the alleged crooks were arrested in New York, Florida and California, while two alleged participants based in Russia and Israel remain fugitives.
The alleged insider-trading network targeted some of the biggest corporate takeovers of the past decade, including Occidental Petroleum’s roughly $55 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum and Burger King’s approximately $11 billion takeover of Tim Hortons, according to the indictments.
In another exchange after a successful merger announcement, he allegedly texted: “Time to take the money and run.”
In yet another message, Fensterszaub allegedly wrote: “The flight attendant called me. He said he’s waiting for the pilot to finalize details on the flight and then we can schedule takeoff.”
Members of the ring also used “coffee” as shorthand for material nonpublic information and insider-trading discussions, the feds said.
One unnamed co-conspirator messaged, “Good morning coffee” and, “I’m at work if you wanna get coffee” in reference to insider info, prosecutors said.
Kickback payments were disguised through coded references to “gifts,” “donations” and “manilla envelopes,” according to authorities.
The ring went to extraordinary lengths to conceal its activities from regulators, brokerage firms and law enforcement — relying on burner phones, encrypted messaging apps, offshore accounts, shell companies and in-person meetings where participants were instructed to turn off phones and wearable electronics, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Conspirators allegedly routed money through foreign shell entities, disguised kickbacks as “business loans,” moved funds through relatives and associates and frequently used cash payments to avoid detection.
Prosecutors also said some traders used brokerage accounts held in the names of family members, corporate entities and offshore companies in locations including Switzerland, Panama and the British Virgin Islands.
The network tried to minimize digital footprints inside the law firms they were mining for secrets, too, authorities said.
Nourafchan allegedly searched confidential deal databases for transactions he wasn’t working on and viewed files in “preview or read-only mode” in an effort to avoid creating evidence that documents had been opened, according to a separate lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The alleged conspirators grew increasingly paranoid as investigators closed in.
At one point, alleged conspirator Brian Fensterszaub, 45, said “We’re playing with fire.” Silverstein described the situation as “scary and nauseating,” according to an indictment.
Several defendants allegedly lied to the FBI, attempted to obstruct the probe and urged witnesses not to cooperate with investigators.
“The responsible party left Wachtell Lipton over four years ago,” a spokesperson for the firm told Bloomberg News in a statement. “There are no allegations of wrongdoing against the firm. Wachtell Lipton has cooperated fully with the US Attorney’s office and will continue to do so.”
Goodwin and Latham told Bloomberg News: “We are deeply disappointed that a former employee is alleged to have violated the trust placed in him and misused confidential information as part of a broader criminal scheme affecting multiple law firms and their clients. We have been cooperating and continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement.”
The Post has sought comment from Nourafchan, Yadgarov and the other law firms.
