Dighton police chief positioned on depart after being charged for alleged insider buying and selling

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Shawn Cronin, 43, allegedly purchased shares primarily based on info a reserve Dighton police officer gave him concerning the drug firm he labored for.

Dighton Police Chief Shawn Cronin was positioned on administrative depart Thursday after he was charged with alleged insider buying and selling. Dighton Police Division

The Dighton Choose Board voted unanimously to put 43-year-old Police Chief Shawn Cronin on administrative depart Thursday night time after he was charged for alleged insider buying and selling earlier within the day.

In an emergency assembly, the board voted unanimously to make Administrative Sgt. George Nichols appearing chief of police, the board stated in a press launch.

Nichols then instantly suspended Reserve Police Officer Joseph Dupont, a 44-year-old Rehoboth resident who was additionally charged for alleged insider buying and selling with Cronin, the discharge stated.

Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Legal professional for the Southern District of New York charged Cronin, Dupont, and two of their buddies for alleged insider buying and selling in reference to the acquisition of Portola Prescription drugs by Alexion Prescription drugs in 2020.

Collectively, Cronin, Dupont, and their buddies allegedly made greater than $2.2 million by illegally buying and selling Portola shares primarily based on information of the acquisition earlier than it was made public, the U.S. Legal professional stated in a press launch.

Cronin has served as Dighton police chief since July 2022. The choose board didn’t reply to a request for remark Thursday night time.

The alleged insider buying and selling

In 2020, Dupont was a vp at Alexion and was knowledgeable of its acquisition of Portola on Jan. 31, 2020, the discharge stated. Alexion is a Boston-based AstraZeneca subsidiary that focuses on creating medicine to deal with uncommon illnesses.

In April 2020, Dupont allegedly informed Cronin — a childhood good friend of his — of the acquisition. With Dupont’s steering, Cronin, who was a sergeant with Dighton police on the time, allegedly bought shares and choices of Portola inventory, the discharge stated.

Cronin, a Dighton resident, then allegedly informed Jarett Mendoza, one other of their childhood buddies, concerning the acquisition, and helped him buy Portola inventory, the discharge stated.

Cronin additionally allegedly informed his good friend and Hopewell Junction, New York, resident Slava “Stanley” Kaplan of the acquisition, and helped him buy Portola inventory, the discharge stated. Kaplan, 45, then allegedly helped Cronin use buying and selling methods to maximise returns on his Portola inventory.

Kaplan allegedly informed his good friend and Poughquag, New York, resident Paul Feldman of the acquisition, the discharge stated. Feldman, 48, then allegedly “aggressively” purchased Portola inventory and informed others of the acquisition.

The costs

Cronin and Dupont surrendered themselves to police Thursday, and Kaplan and Feldman have been arrested, the discharge stated.

The U.S. legal professional charged the 4 males with a number of counts of prices together with securities fraud, tender supply fraud, and conspiracy to commit securities and tender supply fraud. Every depend carries a most sentence of at the least 20 years in jail.

The U.S. Legal professional’s workplace additionally unsealed prices towards Mendoza, who pled responsible beneath a cooperation settlement, the discharge stated.

“Insider buying and selling just isn’t a fast buck. It’s not straightforward cash. It’s not a positive factor. It’s dishonest. It’s a nasty guess. It’s a ticket to jail,” U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams stated within the launch.