SEC Charges Former Bank of America Banker With Insider Trading Over $18.5-Million Alleged Profit

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday charged former Bank of America investment banker Jason Satsky with insider trading, alleging that he tipped a longtime friend and former colleague about a pending merger, enabling the friend to make approximately $18.5 million in illegal profits, Jonathan Stempel reported for Reuters.

Former Bank of America investment banker Jason Satsky has been charged by the SEC with allegedly tipping confidential merger information to a longtime friend.

Satsky, who was Bank of America's co-head of Americas power and renewable energy banking, allegedly tipped Gavin Wolfe in late 2021 about the potential acquisition of South Jersey Industries, an energy holding company that the bank was advising.

According to the SEC, Wolfe, who runs Evergreen Capital and had been friends with Satsky for more than 20 years, bought more than 2.2 million shares of South Jersey Industries worth about $53 million.

He allegedly made approximately $18.5 million after the company announced an $8.1-billion buyout on Feb. 24, 2022. 

The SEC alleges that Satsky and Wolfe communicated several times about the potential acquisition, including while attending a nationally televised college basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9, 2021.

The SEC's complaint also alleges that Wolfe tipped other people, generating approximately $515,000 in additional trading profits. 

The SEC is seeking disgorgement of Wolfe's alleged profits, civil monetary penalties and officer-and-director bars against both men, among other remedies. The case was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Aug. 21. 

The allegations have not been proven in court. Reuters reported that Satsky, who was fired by Bank of America in March 2025, denies wrongdoing and says he acted lawfully.

Wolfe also denies wrongdoing, saying his investment was based on independent analysis. Bank of America itself has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case.