The SEC has charged the owner of Insight Research, a consulting firm that analyzes publicly traded companies for hedge fund managers, with insider trading and violating anti-fraud provisions. The SEC is seeking a judgment ordering him to surrender his ill-gotten gains and pay financial penalties. In addition, the SEC requires that he is permanently barred from committing future violations.

The owner frequently traded in the securities of Abaxis, Inc. based on inside information he received from a relative employed at Abaxis. He traded several times for his own account in advance of the company's quarterly earnings announcements. He also passed that same information to hedge fund clients of Insight Research, who used the inside information to trade in Abaxis securities.

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