SEC Alleges Brooklyn Men Made $2.2 Million from Insider Trades, Adds 9 More Trades

Two Brooklyn men, Justin Chen and Jun Zhen, are accused of stealing confidential information from their jobs processing corporate regulatory filings and making over $2.2 million from insider trades. The SEC lawsuit adds nine more trades to the four episodes of alleged insider trading cited by federal prosecutors, who previously estimated the pair made at least $1 million. The men allegedly used a Hong Kong-based brokerage account to hide their illicit activities.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against two Brooklyn men, Justin Chen and Jun Zhen, accusing them of stealing confidential information from their jobs processing corporate regulatory filings and using it for insider trading. The SEC lawsuit alleges that the pair made over $2.2 million from illicit trades, adding nine more trades to the four episodes of alleged insider trading previously cited by federal prosecutors [1].

Chen and Zhen worked for EdgarAgents LLC, a New York firm that helps companies format financial reports for the SEC. According to the SEC, the pair saw confidential information about clients, including news about upcoming mergers that could move the market. Their former employer, EdgarAgents, is not accused of wrongdoing.

The SEC's complaint details the pair's coordination via encrypted messaging apps to buy and sell stocks in companies such as Purple Innovation Inc., Ondas Holdings Inc., SigmaTron International Inc., and Signing Day Sports Inc. [1]. Federal prosecutors also included these companies in their charges against the two men.

In addition to the trades, the SEC alleges that the pair used a Hong Kong-based brokerage account opened in January in the name of Chen’s sister-in-law, a Chinese citizen, to hide their illicit activities. The SEC claims that Chen paid his sister-in-law a 6% "fee" for this service [1].

The SEC lawsuit seeks monetary penalties and disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains. Attorneys for Chen and Zhen have declined to comment on the allegations [1].

References:
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-18/sec-says-two-brooklyn-men-made-2-2-million-in-insider-trades