Federal prosecutors say a Hampton man received information from a corporate Dick’s Sporting Goods employee that he used to net more than $800,000 in profits.
Frank T. Poerio Jr., 62, has been charged with four counts of securities fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said Friday in a news release.
Olshan said Poerio received non-public information from a data analytics employee in the sporting goods company’s Moon Township headquarters. Between 2019 and 2021, Olshan said Poerio purchased shares and call option contracts, which are financial contracts that give a buyer the right — but not the obligation — to buy a stock, bond, commodity, or other asset at a specified price within a specific period.
The trades allegedly netted Poerio about $823,000, prosecutors said.
Poerio could not be immediately reached for comment.
Several of the trades took place in the days immediately preceding Dick’s release of periodic earnings statements — referred to as “blackout” periods — when company employees were prohibited from trading in the company’s securities, Olshan said.
The Dick’s employee was not identified.
