Ex-VW Engineers Charged With Insider Trading on Rivian Venture
(Bloomberg) — Two former Volkswagen AG engineers have joined the German automaker’s electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc. He was arrested for insider trading due to the bets he made before announcing a $5 billion joint venture with .
Federal prosecutors on Friday unsealed an indictment charging two engineers, Michael Stamp and Michael Plank, with conspiring to use confidential information they had access to through their jobs at Volkswagen about joint venture negotiations with Rivian.
Volkswagen and Rivian announced the deal on June 26, 2024, providing Rivian with a financial lifeline as manufacturers large and small begin to rethink their strategies in a slowing market for electric vehicles.
Prosecutors said Stamp earned $250,000 and Plank earned $50,000, as Rivian’s stock price rose 23 percent following the announcement. Plank is also accused of giving that information to a close family member who earned $12,000, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said internet searches around the time the initiative was announced showed the two men knew their behavior was illegal, that Stamp searched for “statute of limitations for insider trading” eight days before the announcement, and that Plank’s close family member searched for “how to prosecute insider trading” in German. He said he made a call. afterwards.
“When people misuse confidential information for their own financial gain, they undermine the principles that allow our markets to operate fairly and efficiently,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “Insider trading is a crime that New Yorkers strongly want to be pursued.”
Stamp, 31, and Plank, 45, both of San Jose, California, were charged with conspiracy and securities fraud and face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the most serious crimes. They will appear in federal court in California later today. Attorneys for the two men could not immediately be identified.
The case is US v Stamp, 26-cr-316, US District Court, Southern District of New York.
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