Colts Neck Man Named in Insider Trading Scheme

Colts Neck, NJ - A Colts Neck man has been named in a complicated insider trading scheme that involved meeting in front of the large clock in Grand Central Terminal, exchanging insider trading information on a napkin and then chewing up and swallowing the napkin.

Vladimir Eydelman, 44, formerly of Colts Neck, would arrange to meet Frank Tamayo, 43, of Brooklyn, in front of the large clock in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. Eydelman worked nearby. Tamayo would show Eydelman a paper or napkin with the ticker symbol of a company whose securities should be purchased. After Eydelman memorized the ticker symbol, Tamayo would place the paper or napkin into his mouth and chew it until it was destroyed.

That inside information was provided by Steven Metro, 42, of Katonah, New York, prosecutors said. From 2009 to 2013, Metro stole private info from his then-employer, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, one of the nation’s premier mergers and acquisitions firms.

That private info was about corporate transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions or tender offers, in which the firm represented a party or was a financial advisor to the transaction. As the firm’s managing clerk, Metro did not personally work on most of these transactions. Instead, Metro stole the inside information by scouring the firm’s computer system for client names and the keywords “merger agreement,” “bid letter,” “engagement letter,” and “due diligence.”

Eydelman knew Metro was Tamayo’s “source,” prosecutors say. Eydelman would then purchase securities for himself, family members, friends, and/or clients, including Tamayo. Eydelman quickly sold the shares and covered any positions once the relevant deal was publicly announced and the stock price rose.

Incredibly, Metro, Tamayo and Eydelman netted more than $5.6 million in illicit profits over five years, prosecutors say. Tamayo and Eydelman have both pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme; Tamayo is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 15 and Eydelman is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 22.