A former attorney from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz who later moved into investment banking has emerged as a central figure in one of the largest insider-trading crackdowns in recent years, according to people familiar with the investigation.
The individual, identified by sources as Avi Sutton, is said to be the unnamed co-conspirator referenced in federal indictments unsealed this week in Boston. Prosecutors allege a sprawling decade-long operation in which confidential merger information was leaked from major law firms and used to generate tens of millions of dollars through illegal stock trades.
Sutton has not been charged.
After leaving Wachtell in 2022, Sutton joined boutique investment bank LionTree, where he served as general counsel and chief operating officer. The firm confirmed Friday that the executive tied to the case had been placed on leave and was no longer active within the company.
LionTree also said it viewed itself as one of the victims identified in the federal investigation and stressed that no allegations had been brought against the firm itself.
Federal prosecutors describe a sophisticated insider-trading network that allegedly operated from 2014 through 2024. Investigators say attorneys with access to confidential merger negotiations secretly shared market-moving information ahead of public announcements, allowing traders tied to the scheme to profit from stock movements.
The indictments do not identify Sutton by name. However, two people familiar with the matter said he is the lawyer referred to in court filings as “CC-2,” a former attorney at a prominent Wall Street firm accused of supplying merger intelligence in exchange for money.
According to the allegations, the tips began while Sutton was working at Wachtell, one of the country’s most influential mergers-and-acquisitions law firms. Prosecutors claim the information shared involved a series of blockbuster corporate deals over several years.
Among the transactions cited in court documents are takeover discussions involving Tim Hortons, Actelion, C.R. Bard, Qualcomm, Express Scripts and others. Investigators also allege that after moving to LionTree, the former lawyer passed along information connected to a potential 2023 transaction involving online classifieds company Adevinta.
Wachtell acknowledged it was among the firms impacted by the alleged conspiracy and said it had cooperated fully with federal authorities. The firm added that the lawyer at the center of the allegations had departed years ago and that no misconduct allegations had been made against the firm itself.
The broader case centers on accusations that confidential merger data was systematically harvested from elite law firms and funneled into an insider-trading ring. Prosecutors say the operation was orchestrated by corporate attorney Nicolo Nourafchan and personal injury lawyer Robert Yadgarov.
Authorities arrested 19 people this week in connection with the probe. Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have also filed parallel civil enforcement actions against several defendants.
Investigators allege the scheme infiltrated multiple major law firms, with confidential deal information allegedly extracted and traded on long before merger announcements became public.
