10 Biggest Insider Trading Scandals Ever to Rock Companies

2. Yves Benhamou / Joseph F. Skowron III

We are continuing our list of biggest insider trading scandals ever to rock companies with the scandal number two – Dr. Yves Benhamou is proof that business schools aren’t the sole breeding places for people who like to skim a bit off the top. Even medical professionals aren’t immune to this. The good doctor was working for Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI) as an advisor during the trials for the company’s new drug Albuferon. In exchange for cash gifts and paid trips, he divulged sensitive information to his acquaintance Joseph F. Skowron III, manager at the FrontPoint hedge fund, who also holds a medical degree from Yale. Skowron traded HGSI stock according to Benhamou’s information, culminating with the company’s decision to terminate the Albuferon trials. Acting on the tip, Skowron sold some 6 million shares of HGSI, avoiding a $30 million loss for the hedge fund. He was sentenced to five years in prison and more than $10 million in restitution and fines. Benhamou was given a far lighter sentence though, due to his extensive collaboration with the prosecutors.