us v newman chiasson horvath kuo the ‘bosses’

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    Approved:ANTONIA M . A PP

    REED BRODSKY

    DAVID S. L EIB OWI TZ

    RICHARD C. T A RL OWE

    Assistant United States Attorneys

    Befo r e : HONORABLE GABR IEL W. GORE NSTE IN

    United States Magistrate Judge

    Southern Distr ict of New Yo rk

    UNITED STATE S OF AM ER ICA SEALED COMPLAINT

    V io l a t i on s o f 1 8 U . S . C .

    gg 2 , 371 ; 15 U . S . C . 55TODD NE~ , 78j (b) , 78f f ; 17 C.F .R.ANTHONY CHIASSON, 5 24 0 . 10 b - 5J ON HORVATH, a nd

    DANNY KUO , COUNTY OF OF FE NSE :

    NEW YORKDefen d a n t s .

    DAVID MAKOL, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he

    is a Speci.al Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation

    ("FBI") and charges as follows:

    COUNT ONE

    (Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud)

    1 . Fr om i n or about 2008 t hr ough i n or abo ut 2009 , i nthe Southern Dis tric t of New York and el sew her e, TODD NEWM AN, JON

    HORVATH, and DANN Y KUO , the def enda nts, and ot her s know n and

    unknown, willfully and knowingly did combine, conspire,

    confederate and agree together and with each other to commit an

    offense against the United States, to wit, securities fraud, in

    violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j (b)

    78ff, and Titl e 17, Code of Fed eral Regulat ions , Sec tion 240.1 0b

    5.

    2. It was a part and object of the conspiracy that

    TODD NEWMAN, JON HORV ATH , and DANNY KUO , the def end ants , and

    others known and unknown, willfully and knowingly, directly and

    indirectly, by the use of the means and instrumentalities of

    interstate commerce, and of the mails, and of faci.lities of

    national securities exchanges, would and did use and employ, in

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    connection with tbe purchase and sale of securities, manipulative

    and deceptive devices and contrivances in violation of Title 17,

    Code of Federal Regulations, Section 240.10b-5 by: (a.) employing

    devices, schemes and artifices to defraud; (b) making untrue

    statements of material fact and omitting to state material facts

    necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of

    the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and( c) e n g a g i n g i n ac t s , p r a ct i. c e s a n d c o u r s e s o f b u s i n e s s w h i c hoperated and would operate as a fraud and deceit upon persons,

    all in violation of Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b)

    and 78ff, and Tit le 17, Code of Fe deral Regul ati ons, Sect ion

    240. 1 0 b- 5 .

    Over t Ac t s

    3 . I n fu r t h e r anc e o f t h e co n sp i r ac y and t o e f f ec t t h eillegal object thereof, TODD NE~ , JON HORVATH , and D~ KUO ,

    tbe defendants, and their coconspirators committed tbe following

    overt acts, among others, in the Southern District of New York

    and e l s ewhere :

    a. On or about August 5, 2008, a. coconspiratorsent NEWMAN an em ail that con tai ned mate rial , nonp ubl ic

    information about Dell, Inc. (" Dell" ), a public company listed on

    tbe Nasdaq Stock Mar ke t.

    b . On o r abou t Au gu s t 25 , 2 008 , HORVATH se nt an

    emai.l to a. portfolio manager that contained material, nonpublicinformation about De ll .

    c. On o r about Fe br uary 10, .2009, KUO sent an

    email to the portfoli.o manager for whom be worked containing

    material, nonpublic information about Nvidia. Corporation

    ("Nvidia."), a public company li.sted on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

    (Title 18, Uni ted State s Code, Section 37 1.)

    COUNT TWO

    (Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud)

    4. F rom in or ab ou t 20 08 thr ough in or ab out 20 09, in

    tbe Southern Dis tric t of New Yor k and else wher e, ANTH ONYCHIASSON, the defendant, and others known and unknown, wi.llfully

    and knowingly did combine, conspire, confederate and agree

    together and with each other to commit an offense against tbe

    United States, to wit, securities fraud, in violation of

    Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b) E78ff, and. Title

    17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 240.10b-5.

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    5. It was a part and object of tbe conspiracy that

    ANTHONY CHIASSON , the defe nda nt, and oth ers known and. unknown,

    willfully and knowingly, directly and indirectly, by tbe use of

    the means and instrumentalities of interstate commerce, and of

    t he ma i l s , and o f f a c i l i t i e s of n at i on al se cu r i t i es ex c h a n g es ,would and did use and employ, in connection with tbe purchase and

    sale of securities, manipulative and deceptive devices andcontrivances in vi ol at ion of Ti tle 17, Code of Fe de ra l

    R egul at i o n s , Sec t i on 24 0 . 1 0 b - 5 b y : (a . ) e m p l o y i n g d ev i c e s , s ch e m esand artifices to defraud; (b) making untrue statements of

    material fact and omitting to state material facts necessary in

    order to make the statements made, in tbe light of the

    circumstances undex which they were made, not misleading; and (c)

    engaging in acts, practices and courses of business which

    operated and would operate as a fxaud. and deceit upon. persons,all in violation of Ti tle 15, Uni ted State s Code , Se cti ons 78j(b )

    and 78ff, and Ti tle 17 , Code of Fe deral Regulatio ns, Se cti.on

    2 40. 1 0b - 5 .

    Ovex t Ac t s

    6 . I n f u x t b e r an c e o f t h e c on s p i r a c y a nd t o ef f ec t t beillegal object the re of, ANTH ONY CHIAS SON, tbe def end ant , and bis

    coconspirators commi.tted the following overt act, among others,

    in. tbe Southern District of New York and elsewhere:

    a. On. or about Aug ust 27, 20 08, CH IASSON

    discussed material, nonpublic information about Dell during a.

    telephone conversation.

    (Title 18, Unite d Sta tes Code, Sec tion 37 1.)

    COUNT THREE

    ( Secur i t i es Fr au d )

    7. In o x ab ou t Au gus t 20 08, in the So ut hern Dis trict

    of New Yoxk and el se whe re, TODD NEWN AN, the def end ant , wil lfully

    and knowingly, dixectly and indirectly, by use of the means and

    instrumentalities of in te rst ate comme rce, and of tbe ma ils and

    tbe facilities of national securities exchanges, in connection

    w it h t h e p u x c h a s e a n d s a l e o f s ec u r i t i e s , di d u s e a n d em p l o y

    manipulative and deceptive devices and contxivances, in violationof Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 240.10b-5, by:

    (a) employing devices, schemes and artifices to defraud; (b)

    making untrue statements of material facts and omi.tting to state

    matexi.al facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in

    tbe light of the circumstances under wbi.ch they were made, not

    misleading; and (c) engaging in acts, practices and courses of

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    business which operated and would operate as a. fraud and deceit

    upon persons, to wit, NEWMAN caused a hedge fund located in

    Stamf ord, Connecticut to execute securities transactions in Dell

    based on material, nonpublic information NEWMAN obtai.ned from a

    coconsp i r a t o r .

    (Title 15, Uni ted State s Code, Secti ons 78 j(b) 6 78f f;

    Title 17, Code of Fe der al Regu latio ns, Sec tion 240. 10b-5 ,

    and Title 18, United. States Code, Sect ion. 2.)

    COUNT FOUR

    ( Secur i t i es Fr au d )

    8 . I n o r a bo ut A ug u s t 2 0 0 8 , i n t h e So u t h e r n Di s t r i c tof New York and else whe re, ANTH ONY CHIA SSON , the defe ndan t,

    willfully and knowingly, directly and indirectly, by use of the

    means and instrumentalities of interstate commerce, and of the

    mails and the facilities of national securities exchanges, in

    connection with the purchase and sale of securiti.es, did use and

    employ manipulative and deceptive devices and contrivances, in

    violation of Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section

    2 40 .1 0b - 5 , b y : ( a ) emp l o y i n g d e vi c e s , sc h e m e s a n d a r t i f i .c e s t odefraud; (b) maki.ng untrue statements of materi.al facts and

    omitting to state material facts necessary in order to make the

    statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which

    they were made, not misleading; and (c) engaging in acts,

    practices and courses of business which operated and would

    operate as a fraud and deceit upon persons, to wit, CHIASSON

    caused a hedge fund located in New York, New York to execute

    securities transactions in Dell based on material, nonpublic

    i.nformation CHIASSON obtained from a coconspirator.

    (Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b) k 78ff;

    Title 17, Code of Fe der al Regu lati ons, Sect ion 240 .10b -5,

    and Title 18, Uni ted States Code , Sectio n 2. )

    COUNT FIVE

    ( Secur i t i es Fr au d )

    9. In o r ab ou t Au gus t 20 08, in the So uth ern Dis trict

    of New York and els ewh ere, JON HORV ATH, th e def end ant, willfully

    and knowingly, di.rectly and indirectly, by use of the means andi.nstrumentalities of interstate commerce,. and of the mails and

    the facilities of national securiti.es exchanges, in, connection

    with the purchase and sale of securiti.es, did use and employ

    manipulative and deceptive devices and contrivances, in violation

    of Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 240.10b-5, by:

    (a) employing devices, schemes and. artifices to defraud; (b)

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    making untrue statements of material facts and omitting to state

    material facts necessary in order to make tbe statements made, in

    the light of tbe circumstances under which they were made, not

    misleading; and (c) engaging in acts, practices and courses of

    business which operated and would operate as a. fraud and deceit

    upon. persons, to wit, HORVATH caused a. hedge fund located in New

    York, New York to execute securities transactions in Dell basedon material, nonpublic information HORVATH obtained from a.

    c oconsp i r a t o r .

    (Title 15, United States Code, Sections 78j(b) & 78ff;Title 17, Code of Fe der al Reg ulat ions, Sect ion 240. 10b -5,

    and Title 18, Uni ted States Code , Sec tion 2 .)

    COUNT SIX

    ( Secur i t i es Fr au d )

    10. In or ab ou t Au gus t 200 8, in tbe Sou the rn Dis tric t

    of New York and el sew here , DANNY KUO, tbe defen dant , wil lful ly

    and knowingly, directly and indirectly, by use of the means and

    instrumentalities of interstate commerce, and of tbe mails and

    tbe facilities of national securities exchanges, in connection

    with tbe purchase and sale of securities, did use and employ

    manipulative and deceptive devices and contrivances, in violationof Title 17, Code of Fe der al Reg ula tions, Section 240 .10 b-5, by:

    (a) employing devices, schemes and artifices to defraud; (b)

    making untrue statements of material facts and omitting to state

    material facts necessary in order to make tbe statements made, in

    tbe light of the circumstances under which they were made, not

    misleading; and (c) engaging in acts, practices and courses of

    business which operated and would operate as a fraud and deceit

    upon persons, to wit, KUO caused a hedge fund located in

    California to execute securities transactions in Dell

    based on material, nonpublic information KUO obtained from a

    coconspi rator .

    (Title 15, Uni ted St ate s Code , Secti ons 78j (b) &: 78ff;

    Title 17, Code of Fe der al Reg ula tions, Sect ion 240. 10b- 5,

    and Title 18, Uni ted States Code , Sec tion 2.)

    Tbe bases for my knowledge and tbe foregoing charges

    are, in part, as follows:

    11. I h av e be en a Spe cia l Agent with tbe FBI fo r

    approximately nine years. I am currently assigned to a squad

    responsible for investigating violations of tbe federal

    s ecur i t i es l aws a nd r e l a t ed o f f en s e s . I hav e pa r t i c i p a t ed i nnumerous investigations of such offenses and I have made and

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    participated in making arrests of individuals for participating

    i n s uc h o f f en s e s .

    12. The information contained in this Complaint is

    based upon my personal knowledge, as well as information obta.ined

    during this investigation, directly or indirectly, from other

    sources, including, but not limited to: (a) business records andother documents provided by various entities; (b) publicly

    available documents; (c) analyses of court-authorized pen

    register records and telephone toll records; (d) information,

    documents, and other evidence provided by Jesse Tortora

    ("Tortora"); (e) information and other evidence provided by

    Spyridon Adondakis, a/k/a, "Sam Adondakis" ("Adondakis"); (f)

    information, documents and other evidence provided by Sandeep

    Goyal, a/k/a. "Sandy Goyal"("Goyal"); (g) conversations with other

    FBI agents and my review of reports prepared by other FBI agents;

    and (b) business records and documents obtained in tbe execution

    of search warrants on various hedge funds. Because this

    Complaint is being submitted for the limited purpose of

    establishing probable cause, it does not include all the facts

    that I have learned during tbe course of my investigation. Where

    the contents of documents and tbe actions and statements of and

    conversations with others are reported herein, they are reported

    in substance and in part. Where figures, calculations, and, dates

    are set forth herein, they are approximate, unless stated

    o the rw ise .

    Relevant Entities

    13. At all times relevant to this Complaint, Hedge

    Fund A was an investment firm with its beadctuarters and principal

    place of business located in Stamford, Connecticut.

    1 4 . At a l l t i me s r e l e va n t t o t h i s Co m p l a i n t , Hed g eFund B was an investment firm with its principal place of

    business located in. New York, New York.

    15. A t al l ti mes rel evant to thi s Com pla int, Hedge

    Fund C was an in ve st men t firm wit h its be adctuarters loca ted in

    Stamford, Conn ecticut , and an of fic e located in New Yo rk, New

    York.

    1 6. At a l l t i mes r el ev a n t t o t h i s c a s e , I nv e s t m e n tFirm D was a wealth management company headguartered on tbe West

    Coast, with an office in South Pasadena., California.

    17 . At a l l t i mes r e l e va n t t o t h i s Co m p l a i n t , Del l wa sa technology company headquartered in Round Rock, Texas and

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    listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (ticker symbol: DELL).

    Furthermore, at all times relevant to this Complaint, Dell's

    policies prohibited the unauthorized disclosure of Dell's

    confidential information.

    1 8 . A t a l l t i me s r e l ev a n t t o t h i s Co mp l a i n t , Nv i d i a.

    was a. technology company headguartered in Santa Clara,California, and li,sted on the Nasdaq stock market (ticker symbol:

    NVDA). Furthermore, at all times relevant to this Complaint,

    Nvidia.'s policies prohibited the unauthorized disclosure of

    Nvidia's confidential information.

    Relevant Indi vidua ls

    19. At al l ti mes rel evant to this Com pla int, TODD

    NEWMAN, the defenda nt, was a por tf olio manager at He dge Fund A.

    20. At al l ti mes re levan t to thi s Com pla int, ANTH ONY

    CHIASSON, the de fenda nt, was one of th e fo un der s of, and a.

    portfolio manager at, Hedge Fund B.

    21. A t all ti mes rel evant to thi s Com pla int, JON

    HORVATH, the de fenda nt, was an an al yst at He dge Fund C, who

    worked in the office located in New York, New York.

    22. A t all ti mes re levan t to thi s Com pla int, DANNY

    KUO, the defendant, was a fund manager who worked in the South

    Pasadena off ice of Investment Firm D.

    23. At all times relevant to this Complaint, Tortora

    was an analyst at Hedge Fund A. During Tortora's employment at

    Hedge Fund A, Tortora obtained material, nonpublic information

    (" Inside Information" ) for the benefit of Hedge Fund A. As part

    of this investigation, I and another agent approached Tortora in

    an effort to obtain his cooperation. Tortora has since entered a.

    guilty plea pursuant to a cooperation agreement to charges of

    conspiracy and securities fraud. Tortora has been cooperating

    with the Government in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence.

    Certain information Tortora. has provided has proven to be

    reliable and has been corroborated by, among other things, the

    statements of other cooperating witnesses, consensually recorded

    conversations and court authorized interceptions of telephone

    calls, telephone records, trading records, documents provided by

    Tortora, and electronic communications and other documents

    obtained from Hedge Fund A and Hedge Fund B.

    24. At all times relevant to this Complaint, Adondakis

    was an analyst at Hedge Fund B. During Adondakis's employment at

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    Hedge Fund B, Adondakis obtained Inside Infox'mation fox the

    benefit of Hedge Fund B. As part of this investigation, I and

    another agent approached Adondakis in an effort to obtain his

    cooperation. Adondakis has since entered a guilty plea pursuant

    to a cooperation agreement to charges of conspiracy and

    securiti.es fraud. Adondakis has been cooperating with the

    Government in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence. Certaininformation Adondakis has provided has proven to be xeliable and

    has been corroborated by, among other things, the statements of

    other cooperating witnesses, consensually recoxded conversations

    and court authorized interceptions of telephone calls, telephone

    records, trading records, and electronic communications and other

    documents obtained from Hedge Fund A and Hedge Fund B.

    25. A t all ti mes rel evant to thi s Com pla int, Goyal was

    an associate analyst for a global asset management fi.rm

    headquartered in New York, New. York ("investment Fi.rm 1"). Prior

    to woxking at Investment Firm 1, Goyal worked for Dell in an

    office located in Round Rock, Texas. During Goyal's employmentat investment Fir m 1, Go yal obtai.ned Inside Inf ormat ion fro m

    employees of Dell. As part of this investigation, I and another

    agent appxoached Goyal in an effort to obtain his cooperation.

    Goyal has since entered a guilty plea pursuant to a cooperation

    agreement to chaxges of conspiracy and securities fxaud. Goyal

    has been cooperating with the Government in the hope of xeceiving

    a reduced sentence. Certain information Goyal has provided has

    proven to be reliable and has been corroborated by, among other

    things, the statements of other cooperating witnesses, telephone

    records, trading records, documents provided by Goyal, and

    electronic communications and other documents obtained fxom Hedge

    Fund A.

    Overview Of The In si der Tr'adin S ch em e

    26. As set forth in more detail below, I have probable

    cause to believe that fxom at least in or about 2008 thxough in

    or about 200 9, JON HORV ATH and DANNY KUO , the de fe ndants, alo ng

    with Tortora. and Adondakis, were friends who worked as analysts

    at various investment firms and who exchanged with each other

    Inside Information obtained directly or indi.x'ectly from employees

    of publicly-traded technology companies.

    27. For example, from in or about 2008 through in or

    about 2009, Tox tor a pr ovided to JON HO RVATH and DA NNY KUO , the

    defendants, and Adondakis Inside Information regarding Dell's

    financial condition, includi.ng gross margin information (the

    "Dell Inside Information" ). Tortora had obtained this Inside

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    information from Goyal, wbo, in turn, obtained the information

    from an employee at Dell (the "Dell Insider" ). A t times, tbe

    Dell Insider worked in Dell's investor relations department. As

    set forth in more detail below, tbe Dell Insider at times

    provided initial information concerning Dell's financial

    condition prior to tbe close of tbe quarter, and provided more

    specific information about Dell's quarterly results after the

    close of tbe quarter but prior to Dell's public announcement of

    those results . G oya l in fo rmed Tor tora that tbe Del l Ins ide

    Information came from an employee at Dell. At various times when

    Goyal provided tbe Dell In side Info rmat ion to To rto ra, Tort ora

    was l o c a t e d i n New Yo r k , Ne w Yo r k .

    28. S i m il ar ly, JON HORV ATH and DANN Y KUO , tbe

    defendants, obtained inside Information, directly or indirectly,

    from employees at one or more publicly-traded technology

    companies and provided that Inside Information to Tortora and

    others. A t t i me s, HOR VATH and KUO in for med Tor tora and /or

    Adondakis that tbe Inside Information originated with one or more

    employees at tbe respective technology companies.

    29. Tortora also passed the Dell Inside Information toTODD NEWMAN, tbe def endant, for whom To rt ora wo rked at He dge Fun d

    A. T o r to ra inf ormed NEWNAN that the Del l Ins ide Inf orma tion came

    from Goyal, and that Goyal bad obtained tbe information from a,

    source at Del l. NEWMA N ca use d Hedg e Fund A to ex ec ute sec urit ies

    transactions based, in whole or in. part, on the Dell Inside

    Information in adv ance of De ll's first and sec ond qua rter 2008

    earnings announcements, resulting in approximately $3.8 mi.llion

    in illegal profits.

    30. A d o nd aki s pas sed tbe Del l Ins ide Inf orma tion to

    ANTHONY CHIAS SON, tbe def endant , among oth ers at Hedge Fund B.

    Adondakis infor med CHI ASSON that the Dell ins ide Inf orma tion came

    from a source at Dell. CHIASSON, along with others at Hedge Fund

    B, caused Hedge Fund B to execute securities transactions based

    in whole or in part on the Dell Inside Information in advance of

    Dell's first and second quarter 2008 earnings announcements,

    r esu l t i ng i n app r ox i m a t e ly $57 m i l l i on i n i l l ega l p r o f i t s .

    31. A f te r re ce iving the Del l Ins ide Inf orma tion from

    Tortora, JON HOR VATH, the defen dant, cau sed Hedge Fund C to

    execute securities transactions based in whole or in part on tbe

    Dell inside Information in advance of Dell's second quarter 2008

    earnings announcements, resulting in approximately $1,000,000 in

    illegal profits for Hedge Fund C.

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    32. A f te r re ce iving the Dell Ins ide Inf orm ation. from

    Tortora, DANNY KUO , the def endant , cau sed Inv estment Fir m D to

    execute securities transactions based in whole or in part on. the

    Dell Inside Information in advance of Dell's second quarter 2008

    earnings announcements, avoiding losses of approximately $78,000.

    Hed e Fund A Pa s Go al For The 1n side Infoxm ation

    33. Based on my interviews with Tortora and Goyal, my

    conversations with other FBI agents and my review of reports

    prepared by other FBI agents, my review of business records,

    including emails, of Hedge Fund A, and my review of bank records,

    I have learned that Hedge Fund A paid Goyal for information,

    including the Dell Inside Information, via a purported consulting

    arrangement with another individual (" Individual 1").

    Specifically, I have learned the following:

    a. In or a b ou t lat e 20 07, Tor tora and Goy al

    discussed the possibility of Goyal receiving payment for

    information that he was providing to Hedge Fund A.

    b. Fol lowing this conversation, Tortora arranged

    with TODD NEWMAN , the de fe nd ant , to pay Ind ivi.dual 1 as a

    "consultant" for Hedge Fund A. The payment arrangement was

    accompli. shed through soft dollars.'

    d. Bus iness records of Hedge Fund A show that,

    between in or ab out Feb ruary 2008 and in or abou t Se pt ember 2008 ,

    Hedge Fund A caused four payments to be made to Individual 1 each

    in the amount of $18,750. Th e reference note for each of the

    four payments indicated that the payments were for

    "Research/Consulting services to [Hedge Fund A], including Market

    Research, Industry and Company Analysis, and Network with

    industry contacts for the Semiconductors and IT Hardware

    industries." Bank records for a joint account held by Qoyal and

    Individual 1 (" the Qoyal Joint Account" ) reflect four deposits

    e ac h i n t h e amo u n t o f $ 1 8 , 7 5 0 i n 2 0 0 8 .

    e. O n or a b ou t De cem ber 22, 20 08, Tort ora sent

    an email to Individual 1 stating: "Just wanted to let you know

    "Soft dollar" payments occur when an investment firm

    causes its trading activity to be directed through a designated

    broker -dealer, so tha t the commissions or fees from the executed

    trading activity of the firm can then be used to pay for goods

    and services consumed by the investment firm, such as payment for

    the services of a research consultant utilized by the firm.

    10

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    you will receive a. bonus for 100k for your service pxovided

    through 9/30/08." In fa ct, according to Tortora and Goyal, at

    least some of the $100,000 payment constituted an advance payment

    to Goyal for Goyal to continue to supply information, including

    tbe Dell Ins ide In forma tion, to Hedge Fund A in. 2009.

    f. Bu siness records of Hedge Fund A reflect thatHedge Fund A caused a soft dollar payment of approximately

    $100,000 to In di vi.dual 1 on or ab out Jan uax'y 12, 2009, with tbe

    same reference note as the four quarterly payments set forth in

    subparagraph (d) above. Bank account recoxds fox the Goyal Joint

    Account reflect a deposit of approximately $100,000 on or about

    J a nu ar y 2 9 , 2 0 09 .

    g. According to Goyal and Tortora, Individual 1

    never provided and was never expected to provide research

    serv ice s t o Hedg e Fu nd. A.

    Hedge Fund A Made Approximately $1 Million In Illegal Pxofits

    Based On The Dell In side Inf oxm atio n ln Adv ance Of

    Dell's Ma 2 9 20 08 E a rn in s An no un cem ent

    34. Fxom my conversations with Tortoxa and Goyal, my

    conversations with other FB1 agents and my review of reports

    prepared by other FBI agents, my review of electronic

    communications and other business xecords obtained fxom Hedge

    Fund A and Hedge Fund B, my review of documents provided by

    Tortora. and Goyal, my review of various telephone records and

    trading records of Hedge Fund A, and representations made by

    Hedge Fund A, I have leaxned that Qoyal provi.ded the Dell Inside

    Information to To rt ora. in advance of De ll 's May 29 , 20 08

    quarterly earnings announcement and that Tortora passed the Dell

    Inside Informa tion to TODD NEWN AN, tbe de fen dan t. M ore

    specifically, I have learned tbe following:

    a. In advance of Dell's May 29, 2008 quarterly

    earnings announcement, tbe Dell Insider provided to Goyal, wbo,

    in turn, provided to Tortora Inside Information indicating that

    Dell's gross margi.n numbers for tbe quarter ended April 30, 2008

    would be higher than market expectations.

    b. Tel ephone records indicate that on or aboutMay 15, 2008, at approximately 9:41 p.m., Qoyal and tbe Dell

    Insider spoke by telephone for approximately 16 minutes.

    Immediately tbexeafter, Goyal made a call to Toxtora that lasted

    a few seconds. Tortora returned Goyal's call at approximately

    10:26 p.m., and that call lasted approximately 8 minutes.

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    c. The n ex t mo rn ing , on or abo ut May 16, 20 08 ,

    at approximately 7:41 a.m., Tortora sent an email to Qoyal titled

    "dell," which stated: "Hey Sandy let me know if you have a.

    couple of minutes just to run through tbe model before the open

    today." Tortora sent another email to Goyal at approximately

    7 :53 a . m . w i t h t b e su bj e c t l i n e " r e : De l l , " st at i n g : " He y s t r eet

    at 33, I get 36-37, let me know if you agree." Qoyal respondedto Tortora by email at approximately 8:28 a.m., stating "I get

    around 36 too." Based on my conversations with Tortora. and

    Goyal, to arrive at the numbers in these emails, which

    represented "earnings per share" or "EPS" numbers for Dell's

    stock, both Tortora. and Qoyal ins erted the Dell I ns id e

    Information relayed by tbe Dell 1nsider into their respective

    financial models for Dell. Tbe EPS number that they each

    c al cu l a t e d , i . e . 3 6 c en t s , wa s h i gh e r t han t he ex p e c t a t i o ns o fthe market or tbe "s tre et" .

    d. A lso on or ab out May 16 , 20 08, at

    approximately 8:57 a,.m. shortly after the exchange of emails

    described in subparagraph (c) above telephone records reflect a

    call between Tortora's cellular phone and Goyal's office line

    that lasted approximately 6 minutes. Immediately thereafter, at

    approximately 9:03 a..m., telephone records reflect that Tortora

    called NEWMAN's cellular phone and that call lasted approximately

    two minutes. Telephone records also reflect an approximately 4

    minute call between Tortora and NE~ 's office line at

    approximately 9:17 a.m.

    e. Base d on my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund A, I have le ar ned tha t on or ab out May 16 , 20 08 ,

    between approximately 9:35 a.m. and 3:22 p.m., a. portfolio at

    Hedge Fund A ove r wh ich NEW MAN bad inv estm ent dis cre tion

    purchased approximately 475,000 shares of Dell, at a total cost

    of approximately $10 million.

    35. Based on my review of publicly available

    information, 1 have learned that Dell publicly announced its

    c(uarterly earnings results after tbe close of the market (at 4:00

    p.m.) on May 29, 2008.' Within one trading day of Dell's May 29,

    2008 quarterly earnings announcement, Dell's stock price

    increased by more than 5-. over tbe previous day's close.

    Dell's fiscal year ends January 31. Thus, Dell's first

    quarter includes earnings for the months of February, March, and

    April

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    36. From my review of trading records for tbe

    portfolio at Hed ge F und A ove r wh ich TODD NEWM AN, the def enda nt,

    had investment discretion, I have learned tbe following:

    a . Be t ween on o r abou t May 16 , 2 008 and. on o rabout May 29, 200S, NEW MAN executed or cause d to be exec ut ed, on

    behalf of Hedge Fund A, a series of securities transactions thatresulted in the portfolio he managed holding a long position of

    approximately 45 0, 000 sha res of Del l stoc k as of tbe close of the

    market on or ab out May 29, 20 08 .

    b. B etw e en on or abo ut May 29, 20 08, after tbe

    close of the market, and on. or about June 3, 2008, Hedge Fund A

    sold tbe 450, 000 share s it beld as of the cl ose of tbe ma xke t on

    May 29 , 2008 .

    c. Hedge Fund A realized an illegal profit of

    approximately $1 million based on the sale of those 450,000

    shares.

    Hedge Fund A Ma de Approximately $2.8 Mi llion 1n

    Illegal Pro fits Base d On The Dell I ns ide Infox mat ion

    In Advance of De ll 's Au ust 28 200 8 Ea xn in s An no unc ement

    37. Prom my convexsations with Tortora, Adondakis, and

    Goyal, my conversations with other FBI agents and my review of

    reports prepared by other FBI agents, and my review of electronic

    communications and other business records obtained from Hedge

    Fund A and Hedge Fund B, my review of documents provided by

    Tortora., my review of various telephone records, my review oftrading records for Hedge Fund A, and xepresentations made by

    Hedge Fund B, I ha ve le ar ned tha t, in advance of De ll 's Aug ust

    28, 2008 quarterly earnings announcement, the Dell Inside

    Infoxmation was passed from the Dell Insider to Goyal to Tortora

    to TODD NEWMAN , the defe ndan t. M o r e sp ec if ica lly, I. have learned

    tbe following:

    a. Beg inning in or about July 2008, tbe Dell

    Insider provided to Goyal initial information concerning Dell's

    revenues and/or gross margin. Qoyal, in turn, provided this

    information to Tortora. As the quarter progressed, Goyal

    obtained and provided information indicating that Dell's grossmargin would be lower than market expectations.

    b. Tel ephone records reflect that, on or about

    July 2, 200S, at approximately 7:00 p.m., Goyal had a 31 minute

    call with the Dell Insider. Tb e same evening, at approximately

    10:43 p.m., Qoyal and Tortora spoke for 10 minutes. The next

    morn ing, o n or abo ut Ju l y 3 , 2008, a t appr ox i ma te ly 8 :3 0 a .m. ,

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    telephone rec ords ref lect that Tor tora calle d NEWPVX a t He dg e

    Fund A and that call lasted approximately 13 minutes.

    c. Based on my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund A, I have learned that, beginning at approximately

    9:31 a.m. on or ab out July 3 , 20 08, the port folio at Hed ge Fund A

    over which NEWN M h ad i n v es tment con trol sold short 225 ,00 0

    share s o f De l l . '

    d. A fter the close of Dell's second quarter in

    2008, but prior to Dell's public earnings announcement, the Dell

    Insider provided to Qoyal, and Qoyal, in turn, provided to

    Tortora, more specific information concerning Dell's margins that

    confirmed that Dell's gross margin would be lower than market

    expecta t i on s .

    e . Thus , on o r abou t Augu s t 4 , 200 8 , a t

    approximately 10:23 a.m., Tortora. wrote an email to Goyal with

    the subject "dell," in which Tortora requested that Goyal "keep

    [Tortora] posted" if he heard "anything new." Qoyal responded to

    the email at approximately 10:24 a.m. stating that he "plan[ed]

    to check today evening." The same day, at approximately 8:55

    p.m., telephone records reflect that Goyal spoke with the Dell

    Insider by telephone for approximately 40 minutes.

    f. T he n ex t da y, on or ab out Aug ust 5, 20 08, at

    approximately 8:32 a.m., telephone records reflect that Tortora

    received a, call from a phone number that I know to be assigned to

    Investment Firm 1 (where Qoyal worked), which lasted

    approximately 9 minutes. At approximately 8:39 a.m. that same

    day, Tortora sent an email to NE~ which included the Dell

    Inside Information. Tortora had received from Qoyal. The email,

    with the subject "dell," stated:

    Del l checks-Q [quarter]' finished on fri, numbers still

    coming in-rev [Dell's quarterly revenue number] could be

    s l i gh t l y ab ov e 1 6 B [ $ 16 b i l l i on ] , s t r ee t

    A s ho r t s a l e i s t he sa l e o f a, se c u r i t y t h a t an i n ve st o rdoes not own or a sale which is consummated by the delivery of a,security borrowed by the investor.

    Included in brackets are my interpretations of the

    words/phrases that precede the brackets in the email. The

    interpretations are based on my experience and/or my

    conversations with Tortora.

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    a t 1 5 . 9 [$15 . 9 b i l l i on ] , i mp l y i n g a 1' - . t o p l i nebeat-gm [gross margin] looking at 17.5-: vs street at

    18.3., however could go higher as things get

    r o l l e d u p-as of now, best guess 35c-36c [referring to

    earnings per share] vs street at 36c-doesn't sound good, but still very prelim and

    cou ld change-sounds like could be short after run and

    DB preview that got expectations up

    g. Fol lowing that email on or about August 5,

    2008, Tortora. and NEWMAN cont inued to communi.cate by in stant

    message ("IM") as follows:

    (i) At approximately 8:40 a.m. (immediately

    after receiving the email set forth above), NE~ sent an IM to

    Tortora stating: "the Dell from sandy?"

    (ii) Tortora responded at approximately 8:40

    a.m.: "y on wi.th him him now." As set forth above, telephone

    records reflect that Tor tora was on the tel eph one with I nve stment

    Firm 1 (where Goyal worked) at the time of this IM communication.

    (iii) At approximately 8:43 a.m., after

    Tortora and Goyal ended their telephone conversation, Tortora

    reported: "hey off now, so doesnt [sic] sound good, but still

    need to monitor as always changes with rebates etc, but for now

    its [sic] looking neg[,]" meaning that Dell's earnings would be

    perceived negatively.

    h. Bas ed on my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund A, I have le ar ned tha t on or ab out Au gu st 5, 20 08 ,

    beginning at approximately 9:39 a.m., Hedge Fund A sold short an

    addi t i on a l 1 8 0 , 0 00 s ha r e s o f De l l s t o ck . '

    i . I n t h e d ay s b e f o r e t h e Au g u s t 2 8 , 2 0 0 8earnings announcement, Goyal had additional communications with

    Tortora concerning Dell's financial condi.tion, including Dell's

    gross margi.n, and confirmed that Dell's gross margin would be

    By the end of the day on or about Jul y 24 , 20 08, NEWMAN

    had closed out the short position he had previously started to

    accumulate beginning on or about July 3, 2008, and did not hold

    any position. in Dell between on or about July 25, 2008 and on or

    abou t Augus t 5 , 2 00 8 .

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    lower than market expectations. Tortora passed this information

    on t o NE WMAN.

    j. According to Tortora, Goyal's information was

    particularly significant to the direction of Dell's stock price

    because market expectations were positive as to Dell prior to the

    second quarter 2008 earnings announcement.

    38. From my review of publicly available information,

    I have learned that Dell publicly announced its second quarter

    earnings results (for the months of May, June, and July) after

    t h e c l o s e o f t h e ma r k e t ( a t 4 : 0 0 p . m . ) o n A u g u s t 2 8 , 2 0 0 8 .

    Within one trading day of Dell's second c(uarter earnings

    announcement, Dell's stock price fell by approximately 13-: over

    t he p r e v i o u s d ay ' s c l os e .

    39. Based on my review of trading records for the

    portfolio at Hed ge Fund A over whi ch TODD NEWMA N, the de fen dant ,

    had investment discretion, I have learned the following:

    a.. B et w ee n on or about July 3, 2008 , and the

    close of the ma rket on or ab out Au gus t 28, 20 08, NEW MAN execute d

    or caused to be executed, on behalf of Hedge Fund A, a series of

    securities transactions that resulted in the portfolio he managed

    holding a short position of approximately 700,000 shares of Dell

    as of the close of the ma rke t on or ab out August 2 8, 200 8.

    b . Be t ween on o r ab out Augu s t 29 , 2 008 and on o r

    about September 4, 20 08, Hedge Fund A co ve red its ent ire short

    position in Dell stock.

    c. Add itionally, Hedge Fund A purchased put

    opti.on contracts' in Dell between. on or about August 15, 2008 and

    on. or about August 28, 2008, which Hedge Fund A sold on or about

    Augus t 2 9 , 2 008 .

    d. Hedge Fund A realized an. illegal profit of

    approximately $2.8 million based on the securities transactions

    described in this paragraph.

    A put option. contract gi.ves the holder the of the

    contract the right to sell a specified number of shares at a

    speci. fied pri.ce by a certain date, known as the exercise date.

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    Hedge Fund B Made Over g4 Million in Illegal Pxofits

    Based On The Dell In side infor mation In Ad va nce Of

    Dell's Ma 2 9 2 008 E a rn in s Ann oun cem ent

    40. From my conversations with Tortora and Adondakis,

    my conversations with other FBI agents and. my xeview of reports

    prepared by other FBI agents, my review of electroniccommuni.cations and other business records obtained from Hedge

    Fund A and Hedge Fund B, my review of telephone records, and my

    review of trading records for Hedge Fund B, I have learned that,

    in advance of Dell's May 29, 2008 quarterly earnings

    announcement, Adondakis passed tbe Dell Inside Information to

    ANTHONY CHIASSON, tbe defe ndant . M o re sp ec ific ally, I have

    learned the following'.

    a.. According to Adondakis, in advance of Dell's

    May 29, 2008 quarterly earnings announcement, Tortora provided to

    Adondakis information indicating that Dell's overall margin

    numbers for tbe first quarter would be higher than market

    expectati.ons. Adondakis passed the Dell Inside Infoxmation to

    CHIASSON and Hedge Fund B executed securities transactions based

    in part on that Inside Infoxmation.

    b. Tel ephone records reflect that on or about

    May 11, 2008, at app rox imat ely 8:57 p.m., the Dell Ins ider and

    Goyal spoke by telephone fox appxoximately 32 minutes, and that,

    latex that same night, at approximately 9:44 p.m., Goyal spoke to

    Tortora by telephone for approximately 24 minutes. The next

    morning, on or about May 12, 2008 at approximately 8:46 a.m.,

    Toxtora sent an email to Adondakis with the subject "dell/amd",

    which stated: "hey, lets fsicj catch up on dell and amd pxe-open

    if free." Th e same day, at approximately 8:54 a.m. and at

    approximately 9:41 a.m., telephone records reflect that Adondaki.s

    bad two calls with Tortoxa. that lasted 14 and 8 minutes

    respectively. At approximately 11:44 a.m. on or about May 12,

    2008, telephone records reflect that Adondakis called CHIASSON's

    office line at Hedge Fund B and that call lasted approximately 13

    minutes .

    c. Based on my review of trading records of

    Hedge Fund B, I have leaxned that: (1) on or about May 12, 2008,

    at appxoximately 3:41 p.m., Hedge Fund B purchased 3,500 Dell

    call option contracts'; and (2) on ox about May 13, 2008, Hedge

    Fund B puxch ased 175 ,000 shares of Dell sto ck .

    A call option contract gi.ves tbe holder of tbe contract

    the right to buy a certain number of shares at a. specified price

    by a c e r t a i n da t e .

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    d.. Similarly, after tbe series of telephone

    calls and emails between Goyal and Tortora. on. or about Nay 15,

    2008 and May 16 , 20 08 tha t are set forth in pa ra graph 34 abov e,

    on ox' about May 16, 2008, at approximately 9:05 a.m., telephone

    records reflect that Tortora called Adondakis at Hedge Fund B, in

    a call that lasted approximately 9 minutes.

    e. Based on my review of trading records ofHedge Fund B, I ha ve le ar ned tha t on or a bout Nay 16 , 20 08, at

    approximately 9:29 .a.m., Hedge Fund. B purchased an additional

    7 5 0, 00 0 s h a r e s o f De l l s t o c k .

    41. Based on my review of trading. records of HedgeFund B, I have le ar ned tbe fol low ing :

    a.. Bet ween on or ab ou t May 13 , 2 008 and on or

    about May 28, 200 8, Hedge Fund B purc hased app rox ima tely 1.7

    million shares of Dell stock. Hedge Fund B sold these shares

    between on or about May 29, 2008, after the quar'terly earningsann ou n ce m en t , a n d o n o r a b o u t J u n e 2 , 2 0 0 8 .

    b . On o r abou t Jun e 2 , 2008 , Hedge Fund B so l d

    the 3,500 Dell call option contracts that it bad. puxchased on or

    abou t May 12 , 2 0 08 .

    c. Hedge Fund B realized an illegal profit of

    over $4 million based on tbe securities transactions described

    above.

    Hedge Fund B Ma de Ov er $5 0 Mi ll i. on In Illegal Pro fi ts

    Based On The De ll Ins ide Infor mat ion In Ad va nce Of

    Dell's Au ust 28 20 08 Ea xni n s An no unc eme nt

    42. From my conversations with Tortora and Adondakis,

    my conversations with other FBI agents and my review of reports

    prepared by other FBI agents, and my review of electronic

    communications and other business and trading records obtained

    from Hedge Fund A and Hedge Fund B, my review of various

    telephone recox'ds, and repr ese ntations of He dge F und B, I ha ve

    learned that, in ad van ce of De ll's August 28, 200 8 qua rte rly

    earnings announcement, Adondakis passed the Dell Inside

    Information to AN THON Y CHIA SSON , the def enda nt, among ot hers at

    Hedge Fund B. Speci.fically, I have leaxned that:

    a. Acc ording to Adondakis, Tortora provided

    Adondakis tbe Dell Inside Information in advance of the Dell

    second quarter earnings announcement. Speci.fically, Tortora told

    Adondakis that Dell's gross margin for the second quarter would

    be lower than market expectations. Adondakis provided this

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    information to CHI ASS ON, infor ming bim tha t the info rma tion came

    from a. source at Dell.

    b . On or about J u l y 3 , 2008 , a t appr ox i ma te ly8:46 a.m., three minutes after Tortora. ended his conversation

    with TODD NE~ , the def endant, see supra at $ 37(b), Tortora

    sent an email to Adondakis stating that he bad "updates on delland semicap." Tb e next day, at approximately 5:46 p.m. and at

    approximately 5:55 p.m., telephone records reflect that Tortora

    bad two calls with Adondakis that lasted approximately 4 minutes

    in total. Tortora bad another call with Adondakis on or about

    July 7, 2008 at approximately 2:27 p.m. that lasted approximately

    16 minutes, and a further call on July 8, 2008 at approximately

    9:12 a.m. that lasted approximately six minutes.

    c. Bas ed on my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund B, I ha ve lear ned that, on or. about July 8, 2008 at

    approximately 9:33 a.m., Hedge Fund B sold short approximately

    1 .4 5 m i l l i on s ha r e s of Del l s t o ck .

    d. On o r a b ou t Au gus t 5, 20 08, at app roxi mately

    8:41 a.m., Tortora forwarded to Adondakis (as well as to JON

    HORVATH and DANNY KU O, the def endan ts) tbe email be bad sent to

    TODD NE~ , tbe defendant, with the subject "dell" that

    contained the information pertaining to Dell's gross margin. See

    supra $ 37(f). Adondakis provided the information about Dell's

    gross margins to CHIASSON and one or more other individuals atHedge Fund B. CH IA SSO N and. another individual at He dge Fund B '

    (" Individual 2") instructed Adondakis to analyze tbe effect on

    Dell's stock price based on the Dell Inside information Adondakis

    b a d r e c e i v e d .

    e. The reafter, Adondakis prepared tbe analysis

    and, on or about Au gust 8, 20 08, met wit h CHI ASSON and Ind ivi dual

    2 i n CHI A SSON' s o f f i c e t o d i s c u s s i t .

    f. Bas ed on my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund B, on or abo ut Au gus t 11, 20 08, at approximately 10 :29

    a.m., Hedge Fund B so ld sh ort an add itional 10 0, 000 sha res of

    Dell stock, and purchased 5000 put option contracts in Dell, withexpiration dates of Se pt ember 25, 2008, a. date that was af ter

    Dell's expected public earnings announcement.

    g. Subs equently, CHIASSON additionally

    instructed Adondakis to write up an .investment thesis for Dell

    which supported the theory that gross margins would be "light,".

    but which omitted the fact that tbe information came from a

    contact at Dell. Adondakis prepared this analysis and sent it by

    19

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    email on or about August 15, 2008 at approximately 1:43 p.m. to

    an email group at He dge Fund B tha t inc luded CHI ASS ON .

    h. On or ab ou t Mo nd ay, Augus t 18 , 20 08, at

    approximately 8:43 a.m., Tortora sent an email to Adondakis

    stating: "Call me, I have an update for you today," referring to

    an update with respect to the Dell Inside Information. Atapproximately 9:13 a.m., on or about August 18, 2008, telephone

    records reflect that Tortora. and Adondakis spoke by telephone for

    approximately 18 minutes. At the time, Adondakis was in

    Cali.fornia attending a co nf erence with CHIASSON and In di vidual 2.

    Adondakis met with C HIA SSON and Indiv idual 2 sh ort ly af ter his

    call w3.th Tor tor a.

    i. O n or ab ou t Au gus t 18, 20 08, beg inn ing at

    approximately 3:29 p.m., CHIASSON exchanged a series of emailswith a. trader at Hedge Fun d B . ln th os e em ai ls, CHIASSO N

    discussed the status of Hedge Fund B's short position in Dell and

    instructed tbe trader to increase the short position in Dell.

    j. Bas ed on my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund B, I have le ar ned tha t on or ab out Au gust 18 , 20 08

    Hedge Fund B so ld short an add iti.onal 700,000 shares of De ll

    stock.

    k. On or ab ou t Au gus t 18, 20 08, CHIA SSON

    exchanged a. series of emails regarding Dell with an individual

    wbo worked at another investment firm (" Individual 3"). At

    approximately 6:34 p.m., CHIASSON wrote to Individual 3: "Gm17.4-17.7." In d ivid ual 3 re sp onded : "But that's nearl y a. 1-' gm%

    miss." ln a. subsequent email later that same evening, CHIASSON,

    stated, among other things, that: "Ny call starts with gm."

    l. On or ab ou t Au gus t 19, 20 08, CHI ASSO N,

    Individual 2, and a trader at Hedge Fund B exchanged emails in

    which they discussed i.ncreasing Hedge Fund. B's short position in

    Dell and acquiring additional put option contracts in Dell.

    m. Bas ed on my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund B, I have le ar ned tha t on or ab out Au gust 19 , 20 08

    Hedge Fund B sold short an ad di tio nal 1, 150,000 sha res of De ll

    stock and ace(uired an additional 5,900 put option contracts in

    Del l .

    On or about Augu st 27, 200 8, Ado nda kis

    provided a further update on tbe Dell Inside Information to

    CHIASSON, Indivi dual 2 and an ot her ind ivi dual at He dge Fund B

    (" Individual 4") . Adondakis sent an email at approximately 12:49

    p.m. to CHIASSON, Individual 2, and Individual 4 indi. cating that

    20

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    Adondakis had an update on Dell. Subsequent emails betweenAdondakis, CHIASS ON, Individual 2, and In di. vidual 4 con firme d

    they were available for a telephone call shortly after

    Adondakis's email.

    o. Ac cording to Adondakis, that same day,

    shortly after these emails were sent, Adondakis participated in atelephone call with CHI ASS ON, Indiv idual 2, and Ind ivi dual 4.

    During tbe telephone call, Adondakis discussed the gross margin

    information that Adondakis bad received from Tortora and the

    market expectations as to Dell's gross margins.

    p. Te l ephone records reflect a call on or about

    August 27, 2008, at approximately 12:56 p.m., between Adondakis

    and a telephone number assigned to Hedge Fund B that lasted

    approximately 40 minutes.

    q. At approximately 1:33 p.m. on or about August

    27, 2008, Indivi dual 4 sent an IM to va ri ous trad ers at Hedg e

    Fund B stati ng: "sbr t 250 del l" .

    r. Based on my review of trading records forHedge Fund B, I ha ve le ar ned that on or a bout Au gust 27, 2008, at

    approximately 1:34 p.m., Hedge Fund B placed. an order to sell

    short an add iti onal 25 0, 000 shares of Del l sto ck .

    43. From my review of trading records for Hedge Fund

    B, I have lear ned that :

    a . Be t ween on o r abou t Ju l y 8 , 2 008 , and on o r

    about August 28 , 2008, Hedge Fund B accumul ate d a net sho rt

    position in Dell stock of approximately 8.6 million shares.

    Between on or about August 29, 2008 (the day after Dell's public

    earnings announcement) and on or about September 16, 2008, Hedge

    Fund B covered its entire short position in Dell.

    b . Be t ween on o r abou t Augu s t 11 , 2 008 an d on o r

    about August 26, 20 08, Hedge Fund B pu rc ha sed put opt ion

    contracts in De ll , which Hedge Fund B sol d be tw een on or ab ou t

    August 29, 2008 and on or ab out September 16, 20 08 .

    c. Hedge Fund B realized an illegal profit of

    approximately $53 million based on tbe securities transactions

    desc r i bed above .

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    Hedge Fund. C Made Appr oximately $1,0 00,000 I'n Illegal Profits

    Based On The De ll Inside Informat ion In Adv ance Of

    Dell's Au ust 28 2 008 Ea rn in s An nou nce men t

    44. From my conver'sations with Tortora, my

    conversations with other FBI agents and my review of reports

    prepared by other PBI agents, my review of electroniccommunications records obtained from Hedge Fund A and. Hedge Fund

    B, and provided by Hedge Fund C, my review of trading records for

    Hedge Fund C, and my review of various telephone records, I have

    learned that Tortora. provided tbe Dell Inside Information to JON

    HORVATH, tbe de fe nd ant, in co nn ection. wi.tb Dell's Augus t 28, 20 08

    quarterly earnings announcement. Specifically, I have learned

    t h a t :

    a . . On mu l t i p l e oc ca s i o n s i n 2 0 08 a n d 2 0 0 9 ,Tortora provided tbe Dell Ins ide Info rmation to HORV AT H.

    b. Tel ephone records reflect a call on or about

    July 3, 2008, at appr oxima tely 9:5 6 a. m., bet ween To rt ora. and

    HORVATH's work telephone number that lasted approximately one

    minute and another call at approximately 9:57 a.m. between

    Tortora and. HORVATH's cel lular tel ephone that also la sted

    approximately one minute.

    c. On or ab out July 24, 2008, at approximately3:35 p.m., Tortora. sent an emai l to HORVATH and DANN Y KUO , the

    defendants, and Adondakis, with tbe subject line: "PW: dell."'

    Tbe email stated:

    Del l checks:same messager ev f i n eo pex f i n egm could be an issue, will know more

    in 2 we ek s

    d. Te l ephone records reflect that on or about

    July 24, 2008, between app rox imately 4:58 p.m . and 5 :01 p. m. ,

    Tortora and HORVATH exchanged a series of text messages using

    their cellular telephones.

    On or about July 24, 2008, at approximately 1:23 a.m.,

    telephone records reflect a call between Goyal and the Dell

    Insider that lasted approximately 35 minutes. Additionally, at

    approximately 3:15 p.m. that same day, telephone records reflect

    a call between Tortora and Investment Firm 1 (where Goyal worked)

    that lasted approximately four minutes.

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    e . A s n o t e d ab ov e , o n o r a b ou t A u g u s t 5 , 2 0 0 8 ,at approximately 8:41 a.m., Tortora. sent an email containing tbe

    Dell Inside Information to HORVATH. See supra $ 37(f).

    f. Tel ephone records reflect a call between

    Tortora and HORVA TH on or ab out Aug ust 6, 20 08 , at appr oxima tely

    10:32 a.m., which lasted for approximately 6 minutes.

    g. On or about August 18, 2008, at approximately

    12:20 p.m., telephone records reflect a call between Tortora and

    HORVATH that las ted app rox imately 10 min ute s. M inu te s la ter , at

    approximately 12:34 p.m., telephone records reflect that HORVATHcalled the port folio manager at Hedge Fun d C f or wh om HO RVATH

    worked (" Portfolio Manager 1") and they spoke for approximately 1

    minute.

    b. Bas ed on my review of trading records for

    H edge Fun d C , I have learned that on or ab out Au gust 18 , 20 08, atapproximately 12:37 p.m., the portfolio over which Portfolio

    Manager 1 had investment authority started to sell short shareso f D el l .

    i. On or about August 25, 2008, at approximately

    12:57 p.m. , Tor tora sen t an emai l to HORVATH, KUO, and. Adondakis

    stating, in relevant part: "did new apple and dell checks today

    and both sound bad, same as before, so no change to thinking.

    Nell [si.c] catch up later." Shortly thereafter, at approximately

    1:15 p.m., HORV ATH sen t an em ail to Po rt fo lio Mana ger 1 and

    anothe r i n d i v i dua l , wi t h t b e sub j e ct l i n e " [Del l 1 ] s hor t I Rconvo." In t ha t em ai l, HORV ATH repo rted , in re lev ant par t, that

    he bad bad a. "[v] ery short" call with Dell's Investor Relations

    department, that he "would describe the tone as cranky with IR

    saying didn't want to talk as it was is [si.c] too close to EPS

    but I don't recall this being an issue before when I am only

    asking them to go over housekeeping items (like what they've said

    about restructuring progress etc)." In tbe same email, HORVATH

    also noted that "JT also spoke with them again and his check was

    unchanged."

    j. Lat er tbe same day, at approximately 2:21p.m., HORVATH sent ano ther emai l to Por tfo lio Man ager 1 in whi ch

    b e s t a t e d :

    [T] be data is second hand but this contact was

    correct in tbe last two quarters. JT did

    d i f f ' t c h ec k s 7 / 3 , 7/ 24 , an d 8/ 5 a l l t h e wh i . l e

    tbe message was revs small upside, opex in-line

    but GMs under pressure but said be wasn't sure

    magnitude until the final roll up. Then final

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    read came thru on 8/18 and was 50-80 bps GMs

    miss, revs small upside, and opex in line

    netting out to EPS miss. I think investors

    understand that GM will be down slightly q/q

    and could. even miss consensus GM but I don' t

    think they are expecting a big miss on GM. Not

    a good set up to be long as I think DELLprobably has to show $0.02 upside for the stock

    to go up after all these positive reviews.

    k. On or ab out August 27, 2008, at approximately1:07 p.m., HORVATH sen t an em ail to Po rt folio Ma nager 1 and

    another indivi.dual at Hedge Fund C with the subject "[DELL - 1]

    EPS preview." The email stated: "I think we have roughly $6M

    exposure here right now and I think we should increase it $1 2M

    and possibly more if it [meaning Dell' s stock] rallies further

    into the print." The emai.l further contained numbers for Dell's

    earnings, including a. gross margin number of "17.7-. . Vs

    s t r e e t . . . w i t h GM 1 8 . 3 ' - . . "

    1. Th e sam e da y, on or ab out Au gus t 27, 200 8, at

    approximately 1:11 p.m., Portfolio Manager 1 sent an email toHORVATH with the su bj ect line , "Dell acti on, " whi.ch stated: "Very

    remiscient [sic] of last qtr, up everyday into the print. Were

    [sic] near $10mln. Hav e u double checked JT this week?" H ORVATH

    responded at approximately 1:15 p.m., stating: "Yes he checked in

    a couple of days ago , sa me r ea d n o chan ge . "

    45. Based on my review of trading records for Hedge

    Fund C, I have learned the following:

    a. . Be t ween on o r ab ou t Au gu s t 1 8 , 20 08 an d on o r

    about August 28, 2008, the portfolio over which Portfolio Manager

    1 had investment authority accumulated a net short position in

    Dell stock as of 4:0 0 p.m. on or a bout Au gust 28, 20 08 of ove r

    1 5 0, 0 0 0 s h a r e s . B e t w ee n o n o r a b o u t A u g u s t 2 9 , 2 0 0 8

    and on or about Se pt ember 2, 20 08, Hedge Fun d C co ve red it s

    entire short position in Dell.

    b . Be t ween on o r ab ou t Au gu s t 1 9 , 20 08 an d on o rabout September 2, 2008, the portfolio over which Portfolio

    Manager 1 had investment authori.ty aequi.red and subsequently

    liquidated put option contracts in Dell.

    c. Hed ge Fund C realized a profit of

    appro xi m at e l y $1 , 000 , 0 0 0 b a s e d o n t h e s ecu r i t i e s t r an s ac t i on sdesc r i bed above .

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    Investment Fi.rm D Avoided Los ses of App roxima tel y $7 8, 000

    Based On The De ll Ins ide Information In Ad va nce Of

    Dell's Au ust 28 2008 Ea rni n s An no unc eme nt

    46. From my conversations with Tortora., my

    conversations with other FBI agents and my review of reports

    prepared by other FBI agents, my review of electroni.ccommunications records obtained from Hedge Fund A and Hedge Fund

    B, and a review of electronic communications and other documents

    provided by Investment Fi.rm D, my review of trading records for

    Investment Firm D, and my review of various telephone records and

    trading records, I have learned that Tortora provided the Dell

    Inside Informat ion to DA NNY KUO, tbe de fen dant, i.n connection

    with Dell's August 28, 2008 quarterly earnings announcement.

    Specifically, I have learned that:.

    a . On mu l t i p l e o c c a s i o n s i n 2 0 0 8 a nd 2 0 0 9 ,Tortora provided the De ll Insid e Info rmation to KUO .

    b. On or ab ou t Jul y 3, 20 08, at app rox imat ely

    11:50 a.m., after tbe series of calls described in paragraph

    37(b) above, telephone records reflect a call between. Tortora. andKUO's work telephone number that lasted approximately 5 minutes.

    c. Bas ed. on my review of trading records for

    Investment Firm D, I have learned that tbe portfolio over which

    tbe portfolio manager to whom KUO reported (" Portfolio Manager

    2") bad investment discretion bad a long position of

    approx imate l y 37 , 7 0 0 sh a r e s of Del l as of Jul y 7, 20 08 . On orabout July 8, 2008 and on or about July 9, 20 08 , tbe port folio

    over which Portfolio Manager 2 had investment discretion sold

    1,000 and 3,500 shares of Dell respectively.

    d . A s n o t e d ab ov e , on o r ab o u t Au g u s t 5 , 2 0 0 8 ,at approximately 8:41 a.m., Tortora. sent an email containing the

    Dell Inside Information to KUO. See supra $ 37 (f) .

    e. Teleph one records reflect a series of short

    calls on or about August 18, 2008, beginning at approximately

    12:07 p.m., betw een To rt ora.'s cellular teleph one and KUO's

    cellular telephone and work telephone.

    f. Ba s ed. on my review of trading records for

    Investment Firm D, I have learned that on or about August 18,

    2008, at approximately 12:33 p.m., tbe portfolio over which

    Portfolio Manager 2 had investment discretion sold an additional

    9 , 30 0 s h ar e s o f De l l .

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    g. On or about August 19, 2008, at approximately

    10:15 p.m., after a series of emails discussing positive news for

    another stock, KUO sent an email to Tortora stating in relevant

    part: "do you think Dell will be fine as well then'P checks are

    okay." Tortora responded by email at approximately 10:32 p.m.:

    "No I told you yesterday about dell, call me tomorrow if you

    fo rgo ' t " .

    47. Based on my review of trading records for

    Investment Firm D, I have learned the following:

    a . Be t ween o n o r ab ou t Ju l y 8 , 2 008 and on o rabout August 28, 2008 , the por tfo lio over which Por tfo lio Nana ger

    2 had investment authority sold approximately 28,495 shares of

    Dell stock, avoiding losses of approximately $78,000.

    KUO Pzovides Nvi dia ins ide Info rmation To The Cir cle of Anal s ts

    48. Prom my conversations with Tortora and Adondakis,

    my conversations with other FBI agents and my review of reports

    prepared by other FB1 agents, my review of emails obtained from

    Hedge Fund A and Hedge Fund B, my review of emails provided by

    Hedge Fund C, In ve stm ent Firm D and To rt ora , I have le arned tha t

    the following:

    a.. As noted above, from at least in or about2008 through in or ab out 20 09, JON HORVA TH, DANNY KUO, the

    defendants, Tortora and Adondakis exchanged Inside Information

    concerning various publicly traded technology companies, whichthey each obtained directly or indirectly from sources at those

    companies. This circle of friends exchanged the Inside

    Information for the purpose of executing profitable securities' t ransac ' t ions .

    b. Amo ng other information KUO shared within

    this circle of friends, KUO provided Inside Information

    concerning Nvi dia to To rto ra, Adon daki.s and HORVATH . A cco rd ing

    to Tortora and Ad ond ak is, KUO info rmed them tha t the Nv idi a.

    information came, directly or indirectly, from an insider at

    Nv id ia .

    c. Fo r example, on or about February 9, 2009 at

    approximately 8:05 a.m., the day before Nvidia's public earnings

    announcement, KUO sent an email to Portfolio Nanager 2 that

    contained Inside Information concerning Nvidia. KUO immediately

    forwarded this email to Tortora, Adondakis and HORVATH.

    Specifically, that email stated:

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    Check with an accounting manager at NVDA through a

    friend of mine

    Jan quar te r r evenu es a t $48 1N, d own 46 .4 - . qo qConsensus at $489M, down 45'; qoq [quarter over quarterj

    NVDA preannounced the quarter and guided for revenues

    t o d e c l i n e 4 0 - 5 0 -: q oqMy friend forgot to ask for GM [gross margin] but says

    will call this guy again. today

    No read on. gu i da nce

    d . T h e n e x t d a y , on o r ab o u t F e br u a r y 1 0 , 2 0 0 9at approximately 12:26 p.m., KUO sent another email to Tortora,

    Adondakis, and HOR VATH , whi ch stat ed, in rel evant pa rt: "NVDA Jan

    Q GAAP GM will be 29 .4 %. "

    e. S im i lar ly , on or abou t May 4, 20 09 at

    approximately 9:50 a.m., KUO sent an email to Portfolio Manager

    2, which KUO als o for war ded to Tor tora , Adon daki s and HORV ATH

    stating, among other things:

    NVDA check s ove r the we ekend , after the cl ose of

    quar ter

    April quarter revenues around $668 million

    Came in better than the last read (mid April) due to

    strong pickup in demand and unit shipment in the last

    week of A pr i lApril quarter revenues were in line with ear'lier read

    of $650-680M at the end of Na rc h

    April qua rte r GM 30-:

    f. Fu rth er , on or ab out Aug ust 6, 200 9 at

    approximately 9:56 a.m., KUO sent an email to Portfolio Manager

    2, which KUO als o forw arde d to To rto ra, Adon daki s and HORVA TH ,

    stating, among other things:

    NVDA checks fi nal rea d befor e the pr in t

    Initial projections for July quarter was $750M and 33.5

    34.5% GN and they cam e in a li tt le be tter on a. strongfinish to the quarter

    J ul y q u a r t e r r ev e n u e s $ 7 7 7 NGAAP GM in th e 20'. range.

    49. Based on my review of publicly available

    information, I have learned the following:

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    a. Nv i dia. publicly announced its quarterly

    earnings results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009 after

    the close of the market (at 4:00 p.m.) on February 10, 2009.' In

    that earnings announcement, Nvidia reported. fourth. quarter

    revenues of $481.1 million and GAAP gross margins of 29.4

    percent .

    b. Nvi dia publicly announced its quarterly

    earnings for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 after the

    c lose o f t he mar ke t (a t 4 :0 0 p .m . ) on Ma y 7 , 2009 . I n t ha tearnings announcement, Nvidia reported second quarter revenues of

    $664.2 million and Non-GAAP gross margins of 30.6 percent.

    c. Nv idia publicly announced its quarterly

    earnings for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010 after the

    c lose of the ma rke t (at 4: 00 p.m .) on Aug ust 6, 20 09 . In t h a t

    earnings announcement, Nvidia reported second quarter revenues of

    $776.5 million and GAAP gross margins of 20.2 percent.

    WHEREFORE, depo nent pray s that arr est wa rr ants be

    issued for the above-named defendants and at t hey be impri'soned

    or bailed as the case may be.

    DA MAKOLS ECIAL A GE NT

    FEDERAL BUREAU OF IN VE ST IGA TION

    Sworn to before me this

    1 7TH ' day o f J anu a r y 201 2

    0 LE 'G BR IE L W . ORENS TE IN

    UNITED STATES MAG IST RATE JUD GE

    SOUTHERN DIS TRICT OF NEW YO RK

    Nvidia's fiscal year ends January 31. Thus, Nvidia's

    fourth quarter includes earnings for the months of November,

    December, an d J an u a r y .

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