Four people have been sentenced for their roles in an insider trading scheme connected to a $3.2 billion pharmaceutical merger, the Justice Department announced, closing out a case that generated more than $600,000 in illicit profits.
Rouzbeh Ross Haghighat, 62, of Massachusetts, received the longest sentence of the group — 40 months in federal prison — after being convicted in December 2025 on one count of securities fraud, sixteen counts of insider trading, and two counts of conspiracy. Prosecutors described him as the central figure in the scheme.
Kirstyn Pearl, 36, of Puerto Rico, was sentenced to six months in prison after being convicted of one count each of securities fraud, insider trading, and conspiracy. Seyedfarbod “Fabio” Sabzevari, 31, of California, received a 14-month sentence, while James Roberge, 71, of Massachusetts, was sentenced to two months.
According to court documents, the group traded on material nonpublic information related to the pending pharmaceutical merger before the deal was publicly announced, allowing them to profit from the resulting stock price movement. The disparity in sentence length among the four defendants reflects differing levels of involvement, with Haghighat facing by far the most serious charges.
The case underscores how merger-related information continues to be one of the most common triggers for insider trading prosecutions in the pharmaceutical sector, where deal announcements routinely move stock prices by double-digit percentages overnight. Prosecutors have increasingly focused on tracing communications between primary tippers and downstream traders in these networks, a pattern evident in the varying charges brought against each of the four defendants.
With sentencing now complete, the case moves into a monitoring phase, with restitution and any remaining civil penalties from the Securities and Exchange Commission expected to be resolved separately. The outcome adds to a growing list of 2025–2026 enforcement actions targeting trading activity tied to major pharmaceutical M&A activity, a trend regulators have said will remain a top enforcement priority given the sector’s frequent, high-value deal flow.