Criminal charges and SEC actions
Insider trading can be charged criminally by the Justice Department, often through the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, and pursued civilly by the SEC, which cannot bring criminal charges itself. The two cases often run in parallel and share evidence. A criminal case may begin with a complaint or a grand jury indictment, and the first court appearance sets bail conditions; when charges are expected, a voluntary surrender can often be arranged through counsel. The SEC side commonly includes a Wells notice inviting a written response before the agency decides whether to sue. What you say in one proceeding can be used in the other, so the strategy for both should be set together.
What is usually contested
Insider trading cases often turn on what the defendant knew and why they traded. The government has to connect the trade to information the person was not entitled to use, and when information was passed along, the relationship between the source and the trader often becomes central. The defense commonly compares the timing of the trades with the person's usual trading pattern, the public information available at the time, and any pre-arranged trading plan. Phone records, messages, and brokerage data are the usual evidence, and the government often holds more of it than the defendant expects.
First steps after contact
If agents want to talk, you can decline and refer them to a lawyer; knowingly making a false statement to federal agents is a separate crime. Do not delete messages or close accounts, since that can lead to obstruction charges. If you hold a professional license or work in a regulated industry, there may be reporting obligations to an employer or regulator, and non-citizens face immigration consequences that should be weighed early. In an early meeting we review what you have received, what the government is likely to have, and whether early contact with prosecutors or the SEC makes sense.
