Federal prosecutors have moved to seize more than $1.4 million allegedly generated through an insider trading scheme that prosecutors say operated for nearly eight years and exploited confidential corporate information relating to earnings and merger activity.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced it has filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to recover $1,413,037 from a U.S.-based brokerage account held in the name of Singapore resident Zhi Ge. Prosecutors allege the funds represent profits from options trades executed while Ge possessed material non-public information, or MNPI, obtained through a broader insider trading conspiracy.
The forfeiture action is separate from the criminal securities fraud case already pending against Ge and illustrates a common strategy in complex financial crime investigations: pursuing both criminal prosecution and civil asset recovery simultaneously. Even before a criminal case reaches trial, prosecutors can seek to confiscate assets they believe are directly connected to unlawful activity.
An Insider Trading Scheme Allegedly Spanning Eight Years
According to the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in November 2025, Ge allegedly participated in a long-running conspiracy that operated from at least November 2016 through February 2024.
Federal prosecutors allege that Ge and several co-defendants obtained confidential information relating to the financial performance and merger-and-acquisition plans of publicly traded companies before that information became available to the market.
The indictment further alleges that participants traded securities while in possession of that information and, in some cases, supplied the confidential information to others in exchange for a share of the resulting trading profits.
The Department of Justice contends that access to undisclosed corporate information gave members of the conspiracy an unfair advantage over ordinary investors, allowing them to profit before earnings announcements, acquisition news or other market-moving developments became public.
Why Options Trading Features So Often in Insider Trading Cases
The civil forfeiture complaint focuses specifically on call option contracts allegedly purchased and sold by Ge while in possession of material non-public information.
Options frequently appear in insider trading prosecutions because they provide leveraged exposure to anticipated share price movements. A relatively small premium can control a much larger position in the underlying stock, allowing traders with advance knowledge of positive corporate developments to generate disproportionately large returns compared with purchasing shares directly.
That leverage also attracts regulatory attention. Unusual options activity before earnings announcements or merger announcements often serves as one of the earliest indicators that investigators examine when searching for potential insider trading.
Criminal Charges and Civil Asset Recovery Proceed Together
Although the forfeiture complaint targets the trading proceeds, it does not determine Ge’s criminal liability.
The Department of Justice emphasized that the civil complaint contains allegations only and that Ge remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the criminal proceedings.
The dual-track approach reflects how federal authorities increasingly pursue financial crime cases. Criminal prosecutions seek imprisonment and criminal penalties, while parallel civil forfeiture proceedings aim to prevent defendants from retaining profits allegedly generated through unlawful conduct.
In practice, civil forfeiture can allow prosecutors to preserve assets while criminal litigation continues, reducing the risk that potentially recoverable funds are moved or dissipated before a final judgment is reached.
Insider Trading Remains a Core Enforcement Priority
The case also illustrates the continued emphasis U.S. authorities place on protecting market integrity.
Insider trading cases frequently involve confidential information concerning earnings, mergers, acquisitions and other corporate events capable of significantly influencing share prices. Prosecutors argue that allowing market participants to profit from undisclosed information undermines investor confidence and damages the fairness of public securities markets.
Recent enforcement actions have increasingly involved sophisticated international networks, encrypted communications and cross-border trading accounts, requiring close cooperation between prosecutors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and financial regulators.
In this case, the investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts together with the FBI’s Boston Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Lyons is handling the civil forfeiture action through the office’s Asset Recovery Unit, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy E. Moran is prosecuting the related criminal securities fraud case.