STRYKER/ORTHOVITA INSIDE TRADERS PLEAD GUILTY (Orthopedics This Week)
After Stryker Corporation (download 4-page analysis of Stryker HERE) acquired Orthovita, Inc. in 2011, the feds charged former Stryker marketing executive Mark Foldy with insider trading.
On October 7, 2013, Foldy, along with Mark Cupo, John Lazorchak and Michael Pendolino plead guilty to the charges. On November 13, 2013, two brokers, Lawrence Grum and Michael Castelli each admitted to two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Grum also plead guilty to four counts of securities fraud and Castelli admitted to five counts of securities fraud, according to the office of New Jersey District Attorney Paul Fishman.
According to a November 14, 2013 MassDevice story, Grum and Castelli allegedly acted on tips from Foldy about the impending $316 million deal for Orthovita. The brokers were high school friends of Foldy. The scheme generated $1.7 million in illegal profits and kickbacks.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigators reportedly said the friends conducted the trades under an “elaborate smokescreen,” by compiling detailed binders of information on the companies in order to conceal their ins...
