SEC Detects Silicon Valley Executive’s Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a senior executive at a Silicon Valley fiber optics company has agreed to settle charges that he made nearly $200,000 in illicit profits by trading on inside information in advance of three disappointing earnings announcements by the company. The case stems from the SEC Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center, which uses data analysis tools to detect suspicious patterns such as improbably successful trading in advance of earnings announcements over time. Enhanced detection capabilities enabled SEC enforcement staff to identify the unusual trading activity. The SEC’s order finds that Yao Li, as Vice President of Technology at Alliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc.