Feds accuse ex-Bank of America investment banker and friend of insider trading
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed fraud charges against a former senior investment banker at Bank of America and another investment banker over allegations of insider trading.
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The SEC filed a lawsuit against Jason Satsky, of Livingston, New Jersey, on Aug. 21, in a New York federal court for allegedly leaking confidential details about an upcoming deal, which allowed a friend to gain over $18.5 million.
Satsky was the former co-leader of the Charlotte bank’s energy and utility division. That division is listed as the “Americas Power and Renewables Energy & Utility Investment Banking Group” in SEC court documents. It advises companies, private equity firms and infrastructure funds on financial strategy and fundraising in the power, utility and renewable-energy industries.
Gavin Wolfe, who lives in New York and Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, was also charged in the case. Wolfe is a former Bank of America managing director as well as a former colleague of Satsky’s and longtime friend, according to the SEC.
Satsky’s attorney, Robert Anello of New York, told The Charlotte Observer Tuesday that his client has a distinguished 30-year career in finance and an unblemished reputation for integrity. He said Satsky did not provide Wolfe or anyone else with illegal information.
“He did not breach any duty of confidentiality, and the SEC has no evidence that he did so because it did not happen,” Anello said.
Bank of America, which is not accused of wrongdoing in the lawsuit, declined to comment.
Wolfe’s attorney, Reed Brodsky, did not respond to a request for comment from the Observer. Brodsky had told Reuters that Wolfe denies the allegations.
The lawsuit alleged that insider trading involved the stock of South Jersey Industries, Inc. before an acquisition announcement in February 2022. South Jersey is an energy infrastructure holding company that delivers energy services through a natural gas utility and renewable projects.
Satsky represented the Folsom, New Jersey-based company in its sale process. He provided “material nonpublic information” to Wolfe, according to the SEC complaint.
Wolfe bought more than 2.2 million shares of South Jersey stock, and after the deal was announced, the shares gained about $18.5 million in value, according to the SEC. Wolfe allegedly tipped off three associates who together made about $515,000 in unrealized profits.
The SEC claimed Wolfe used encrypted messaging to order trades and that Satsky concealed their relationship during internal bank and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority inquiries. Both made misleading statements when questioned by authorities, according to the lawsuit.
Throughout his career, Satsky has been entrusted with highly confidential information involving some of the largest and most significant transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors, his lawyer, Anello said.
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“Until this matter, no one has ever questioned his handling of confidential information or his integrity,” Anello added. “The evidence will demonstrate that he acted properly and that he will be fully vindicated.”
Wolfe and Satsky’s professional relationship began in 2005, when they worked together as investment bankers. They later worked at Bank of America in 2012 and developed a close personal and business relationship that included frequent socializing, family support and professional favors, according to the SEC suit.
South Jersey hired Bank of America in spring 2020 to advise it on defending against activist investors, with Satsky serving as the company’s main contact. In September 2021, South Jersey asked Satsky to help represent the company in a potential sale. Satsky directed deal preparations, met with executives and oversaw the process, according to the SEC.
Satsky and Wolfe attended a college basketball game together at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9, 2021. Around midnight the next day, Wolfe set a phone reminder reading “SJi and njr.” Later that morning, Wolfe transferred nearly $2.2 million into a trading account and instructed his investment manager to buy South Jersey stock, the SEC alleged.
From Nov. 11 through Dec. 1, 2021, Wolfe acquired more than 2.2 million shares of stock through eight controlled entities for more $53 million. He later allegedly tipped off three associates, who bought shares in their own accounts, according to the SEC.
On Feb. 24, 2022, South Jersey announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Infrastructure Investments Fund for $36 per share. The announcement sent the stock price up about 40%, giving Wolfe approximately $18.5 million in profits, while his associates gained more than $515,000, according to the lawsuit.
In May 2022, the SEC said, Wolfe contacted Satsky seeking confidential updates on the regulatory approval process. After FINRA began investigating the trading, Satsky allegedly misrepresented his relationship with Wolfe in an August 2022 response, describing it as routine client contact while leaving out their personal relationship and frequent communications, according to the SEC
The acquisition closed Feb. 1, 2023. On Feb. 7, 2024, FBI agents interviewed Wolfe and his investment manager, who allegedly denied that Wolfe had directed the trades.
Bank of America terminated Satsky in early March 2025.
Satsky is now co-managing director of Climate Real Impact Solutions in New York, a special purpose acquisition company and Wolfe is managing partner of Wolfe Holdings LLC, an Evergreen Capital affiliate in New York, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
The SEC is seeking injunctions, officer-and-director bans, civil penalties and the return of their alleged profits. A jury trial is also being sought.
The SEC also named the entities Wolfe allegedly used to trade, including Evergreen Capital and Evergreen Financial, as relief defendants.
A relief defendant is a person or entity named in a lawsuit who isn’t accused of wrongdoing but holds assets obtained through the illegal acts of others.
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