October 2, 2014

Former Chief Information Officer of Foundry Networks Found Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court of Participating in Insider Trading Scheme That Reaped More Than Tens of Millions in Unlawful Gains

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID RILEY, former Chief Information Officer of Foundry Networks, Inc. (“Foundry”), a California-based technology company that was acquired by Brocade Communications, Inc. (“Brocade”), in 2008, was found guilty today of crimes related to his participation in an insider trading scheme that yielded over $27 million in ill-gotten gains. Following a 13-day trial conducted before U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, a jury found that RILEY passed inside information about Foundry’s acquisition by Brocade and about Foundry’s earnings for the first quarter of 2008 to Matthew Teeple, a former analyst for San Francisco-based hedge fund Artis Capital Management, L.P. (“Artis”). Teeple pled guilty to related charges on May 28, 2014.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As the jury unanimously found, David Riley exploited his position and access to information at Foundry Networks, a publicly traded technology company. What Riley forged at Foundry was a pipeline of material, nonpublic information that enabled others to engage in illegal insider trading and reap a windfall of more than 27 million dollars. What Riley got out of the arrangement is a felony conviction and the prospect of losing his liberty. He becomes the 87th defendant convicted of insider trading after trial or by guilty plea in this District in the last five years.”

According to the Superseding Indictment filed February 20, 2014, other court documents, and the evidence presented at trial:

As CIO and a Vice President at Foundry, RILEY had access to monthly and quarterly financial reporting, along with other sensitive, nonpublic information (the “Inside Information”) relating to Foundry, well before such information became public. RILEY provided this Inside Information to Teeple—sometimes by telephone and sometimes during meetings the two arranged in the San Jose, California, area. On several occasions, RILEY spoke with Teeple while logged into the database that Foundry used to maintain sensitive financial information. The Inside Information that RILEY passed to Teeple included quarterly financial performance numbers during the first quarter of 2008 and information regarding Brocade’s intended acquisition of Foundry in July 2008.

Teeple passed the Inside Information he got from RILEY on to others, including others at Artis. From the Inside Information Teeple provided about Foundry, Artis ultimately reaped gains of over $27 million in 2008.

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RILEY, 48, of San Jose, California, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of securities fraud. The conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Each of the securities fraud counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $5 million or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. RILEY is scheduled to be sentenced on February 6, 2015.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict with respect to the remaining count of the Superseding Indictment, which charged RILEY with substantive securities fraud related to passage of inside information concerning negative developments with the Brocade-Foundry deal on October 16, 2008.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has filed civil charges in a separate action.

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Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Telemachus P. Kasulis and Sarah E. McCallum, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Holland, are in charge of the prosecution.