INSIDER TRADING SHOCKER! Exec's Tip Sparks $800K Pot in Cannabis Stock!

SEC v. Anthony Marsico, Arthur P. Pizzello, Jr., Robert Quattrocchi, et al. — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26243, dated February 10, 2025.

The SEC charged four individuals—Anthony Marsico, Arthur P. Pizzello, Jr., Robert Quattrocchi, and Timothy Carey—with insider trading. Marsico, an executive at Verano Holdings, learned of Verano's planned acquisition of Goodness Growth Holdings and tipped off his friends Pizzello, Quattrocchi, and Carey. They all purchased Goodness Growth stock based on this nonpublic information, profiting significantly when the acquisition was announced and the stock price surged.

In Plain English

Imagine your friend works at a big company that's secretly planning to buy a smaller company. Your friend tells you this secret, and you buy a lot of the smaller company's stock before anyone else knows. When the news comes out, the stock price goes way up, and you sell your shares for a big profit. This happened here, but with four friends and a cannabis company acquisition.

Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

1. Executive Learns of Acquisition Anthony Marsico, an executive at Verano Holdings Corporation, learned in late December 2021 that Verano was planning to acquire Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. This information was material and nonpublic.
2. Information Tipped to Friends Marsico shared this confidential acquisition information with his close friend, Arthur P. Pizzello, Jr. Pizzello, who co-owned a country club with Marsico, then immediately told another friend, Robert Quattrocchi, and later told Timothy Carey about the planned deal.
3. Friends Buy Stock Between December 8, 2021, and January 31, 2022, Marsico, Pizzello, Quattrocchi, and Carey each purchased thousands of shares of Goodness Growth stock. They made these purchases based on the nonpublic information about the impending acquisition.
4. Acquisition Announced On February 1, 2022, Verano Holdings Corporation publicly announced its acquisition of Goodness Growth Holdings in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $413 million.
5. Stock Price Surges Following the announcement, the stock price of Goodness Growth surged by nearly 42% on the day of the announcement.
6. Defendants Realize Gains As a result of their illicit trading, at the close of the market on the announcement day, Marsico had unrealized gains of $661,549, Pizzello had unrealized gains of $124,456, Quattrocchi had gains of $28,136, and Carey had unrealized gains of $9,260.

The Enforcement Action

The SEC filed charges against Anthony Marsico, Arthur P. Pizzello, Jr., Robert Quattrocchi, and Timothy Carey for insider trading in the stock of Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all defendants. The SEC also seeks an officer-and-director bar against Marsico. Pizzello and Quattrocchi have consented to judgments permanently enjoining them from violating securities laws and ordering disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties to be determined later.

Named in this action: Anthony Marsico, Arthur P. Pizzello, Jr., Robert Quattrocchi, Timothy Carey.

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