LOVER'S LAPTOP LEAKS SECRETS FOR $530K PROFITS!

SEC v. Ronald Smith, Jordan Meadow, Steven Teixeira — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26513, dated March 30, 2026.

The SEC charged Ronald Smith, a registered representative, with insider trading. Smith allegedly traded securities of at least two companies based on material nonpublic information obtained from a colleague, Jordan Meadow. Meadow, in turn, received this information from Steven Teixeira, who misappropriated it from his romantic partner, an executive assistant at an investment bank. Smith and Meadow also tipped off customers, generating significant profits and commissions.

In Plain English

Imagine someone gets secret information about a company before anyone else. This person tells a friend, who then tells another friend. The last friend uses this secret info to buy or sell company stock, making a lot of money. This is illegal because it's not fair to other investors who don't have the secret info. In this case, one person, Ronald Smith, is accused of doing just that, making over $530,000 by trading on secret tips.

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. Information Misappropriation Steven Teixeira, in a romantic relationship with an executive assistant at an investment bank, accessed her laptop. From late 2020 to May 2022, Teixeira misappropriated material nonpublic information about mergers and acquisitions from her laptop.
2. Information Sharing Chain Teixeira shared misappropriated information concerning Domtar Corporation and CDK Global, Inc. with others, including Jordan Meadow. Information about Score Media and Gaming, Inc. and VMWare, Inc. was also shared with Meadow through an intermediary.
3. Trading on Tips Jordan Meadow traded securities based on the misappropriated information and shared it with his close friend and colleague, Ronald Smith. Meadow also informed Smith that the information had been misappropriated.
4. Smith's Personal Trading Ronald Smith, a registered representative, traded securities of Score Media and Gaming, Inc. and VMWare, Inc. based on the nonpublic information received from Meadow, knowing it was obtained improperly. He also traded in his then-girlfriend's account.
5. Illicit Profits Smith's personal trading generated approximately $530,000 in illicit profits in his own account and over $25,000 in his girlfriend's account.
6. Customer Tipping Smith and Meadow also used the misappropriated information to recommend profitable trades to their shared customers at their brokerage firm.
7. Commission Earnings These recommended trades resulted in millions of dollars in profits for their customers. Smith and Meadow split hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions earned from these trades.

The Enforcement Action

On March 30, 2026, the SEC filed insider trading charges against Ronald Smith, a Connecticut resident and registered representative. The SEC alleges Smith traded securities of at least two public companies based on material nonpublic information misappropriated from an investment bank executive assistant's laptop. Smith received the information from his colleague, Jordan Meadow, who obtained it from Steven Teixeira. Teixeira had access to the information through his romantic partner, the executive assistant. The complaint alleges Smith generated approximately $530,000 in illicit profits and, along with Meadow, recommended trades to customers, earning millions for customers and hundreds of thousands in commissions. The SEC seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil monetary penalties. The Commission previously charged Meadow and Teixeira in June 2023.

Named in this action: Ronald Smith, Jordan Meadow, Steven Teixeira.

Original SEC litigation release ↗ · Browse all cases