The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed charges Wednesday against 30 people who used Jewish code words to allegedly coordinate insider trading that netted participants tens of millions of dollars.
The FBI arrested 19 of the defendants Wednesday. The group consisted of corporate attorneys and other financial professionals who allegedly stole and used confidential information to illegally profit from more than two dozen merger and acquisition deals involving some of the nation’s top law firms, according to an FBI statement. (RELATED: DOJ Moves To Denaturalize Alleged Terrorists And War Criminals)
The bureau said those arrested will appear in federal courts in California, Florida, New York, and other states. It added that two defendants have been located in Russia and another in Israel, with all three considered fugitives.
The Jewish News Syndicate reported that one defendant may have fled to Israel and said that more than a dozen of the suspects are Jewish.
Of the 30 defendants, 19 were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, two counts of securities fraud, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Another, Nicolo Nourafchan, was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice, and three more were charged with making false statements to law enforcement, the statement said.
🚨#BREAKING: An #FBI Boston investigation has resulted in charges against 30 individuals for their roles in a global insider trading scheme that netted tens of millions in illicit profits.
The #FBI executed arrests in AL, CA, FL, NJ, and NY today for individuals who are accused… pic.twitter.com/jth0z28rKE
— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) May 6, 2026
Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in the statement that the arrests “dismantled” a large-scale, decade-long, international organized criminal network.
“Everyone charged today is accused of scoring significant profits from expected market moves and making out like bandits. That’s not merely gaming the system — it’s a federal crime,” Docks said. “Anyone who engages in insider trading fundamentally undermines the trust necessary for our financial markets to function, and the FBI is committed to ensuring that those markets are a level playing field, not just profiting those with friends in the know.”
The alleged conspirators repeatedly used burner phones, encrypted applications, and coded communications to make plans in secrecy, the statement said.
The group allegedly used the term “flights” to signify in-person, off-the-grid meetings and used other codes such as “rabbi,” “praying,” and “surgery” to ask each other about potential deals without being caught.
“Are you sending me money for the rabbi, the one that we are praying for that is having surgery in a couple weeks?” one defendant wrote, according to one of the unsealed indictments.
The indictment also included messages such as: “I hope to find out today when the rabbi’s surgery is going to take place,” “How’s the rabbi??” and a call asking when “Rabbi Pipestein” was coming to collect.
A chart summarizing the alleged relationships among the defendants, taken from a complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC v. Nourafchan, et al., Case 1:26-cv-12068, Docket No 1. (U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts filed May. 06, 2026).
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also filed charges against 21 individuals for violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. The charges were brought after the SEC used its Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center to detect suspicious trading patterns, according to an SEC statement Thursday.
The group also allegedly used religious “learning” to suggest the passing of inside information, the SEC’s complaint said.
“We might be starting to learn next week, God willing,” one man wrote, the indictment said.
“At this point, I might just start learning the Koran,” another responded.
The complaint said some members participated in a WhatsApp group chat called “Brothers in the Market” while using common Orthodox Jewish nicknames such as “Sruly,” a Yiddish diminutive of Israel, and “Uda,” a short form of Judah. (RELATED: Three-Headed Economic Monster Looms In Face Of American Consumers As Iran Conflict Rages, Midterms Approach)
“Today’s action highlights the SEC’s unwavering commitment to uncovering sprawling schemes, like the one alleged here, and holding individuals up and down the tipping chain accountable for their fraudulent conduct,” Joseph G. Sansone, chief of the Division of Enforcement’s Market Abuse Unit, said in an SEC statement Wednesday.