SEC v. Brent Cranmer, Daniel McCormick, Jonathan Whitesides — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26514, dated March 30, 2026.
The SEC charged Brent Cranmer and Daniel McCormick with insider trading in Kaman Corporation securities. Cranmer, an insider at a Kaman subsidiary, learned of a pending sale and tipped his friend, Jonathan Whitesides. Whitesides traded on this information and tipped McCormick, who also traded. Both made substantial profits before the acquisition was announced.
Imagine someone works at a company and finds out it's about to be sold. They tell a friend, who then buys a lot of the company's stock because they know the price will go up soon. This friend also tells another friend, who also buys stock. This is like telling someone the secret answer to a test before it's given out, and then profiting from that secret knowledge. The SEC stepped in because this is unfair to everyone else who didn't have the secret information.
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.
On March 26, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final consent judgments as to Brent Cranmer and Daniel McCormick in the SEC’s civil enforcement action charging them with insider trading in Kaman Corporation securities. Cranmer and McCormick consented to judgments permanently enjoining them from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Cranmer was ordered to pay a $50,000 civil penalty and is prohibited from acting as an officer or director of a public company for five years. McCormick was ordered liable for disgorgement of $115,598, deemed satisfied by forfeiture in a parallel criminal case. The SEC’s litigation was led by Ruth Pinkel and supervised by Stephen Kam.
Named in this action: Brent Cranmer, Daniel McCormick, Jonathan Whitesides.