The former executive pleaded guilty to insider trading related to the credit-rating agency’s massive 2017 data breach, which exposed the personal information of more than 145 million consumers
A former Equifax executive is headed to federal prison for illegally profiting off the credit-rating agency’s massive 2017 data breach.
Jun Ying, former chief information officer of Equifax U.S. Information Solutions, has been sentenced to four months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $117,117.61 and a fine of $55,000. Ying pleaded guilty to insider trading in March,
In the summer of 2017, Equifax experienced a data breach in which hackers the personal information – including names, Social Security numbers and birthdates – of more than 145 million consumers. In his role as CIO of Equifax U.S. Information Solutions, Ying was provided sensitive information that allowed him to deduce that Equifax had been breached before the information was made public, according to the Department of Justice.
In August of 2017, after researching the impact of a 2015 data breach on Experian’s stock, Ying exercised all his stock options, resulting in him receiving more than 6,800 shares of Equifax stock, which he then sold. Ying received proceeds of more than $950,000 for the sale and realized a gain of more than $480,000. On Sept. 7, 2017, Equifax announced the breach, resulting in the company’s stock price tumbling.
Ying is the second Equifax employee found guilty of insider trading related to the data breach, according to the Department of Justice. In July 2018, former Equifax manager Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu pleaded guilty to the charge.
