Pleasanton Man Arrested On Insider Trading Charges: DOJ

PLEASANTON, CA— A Pleasanton man and a San Ramon man were arrested Monday on charges of insider trading and obstruction of justice, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Amit Bhardwaj of San Ramon is charged with seven counts of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, each of which carries a maximum of five years in prison.

Srinvasa Kakkera of Pleasanton is charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum of 20 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice each of which carries a maximum of five years in prison.

The Justice Department alleges that Amit Bhardwaj of San Ramon knew that Lumentum Holdings, the company at which he was chief information security officer, knew that the company was considering acquiring Coherent. Based on that non-public information, Bhardwaj allegedly purchased Coherent stock and call options, and tipped off his friends. Bhardwaj and his associates reportedly profited by nearly $900,000 from the information.

In Oct. 2021, Bhardwaj allegedly learned that Lumentum was engaged in confidential discussions with Neophotonics about a potential acquisition. Bhardwaj allegedly provided this information to a number of associates, including Kakkera. After trading in Neophotonics securities, the group reportedly made a collective $4.3 million in realized and unrealized profits.

The DOJ alleges that after the group was served with federal grand jury subpoenas, Bhardwaj, Kakkera and others met in person on multiple occasions to discuss potential false stories and created false documents to conceal payments.