Executive convicted in Minnesota of insider trading related to medical device firm acquisition

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An executive at a medical device company has been convicted in Minnesota of insider trading for a scheme involving negotiations for the acquisition of the firm that was valued at $1.6 billion, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Doron Tavlin was a vice president for business development at the Minneapolis office of Mazor Robotics in 2018 when he learned that the company could be purchased by Israeli-based Medtronic, Inc., according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Tavlin illegally told a friend, Afshin Farahan, who bought more than $1 million worth of Mazor stock in the anticipation that the value would increase, prosecutors said. Mazor specializes in robotics for spinal procedures.

“The morning after the acquisition was announced, Farahan immediately sold all the stock he had purchased over the preceding weeks, which resulted in a combined profit of over $500,000 for himself and one other individual,” the statement said.

According to evidence presented at trial, the conspiracy included an agreement that Farahan would pay money to Tavlin in exchange for the nonpublic information about the acquisition.

Last week, a federal jury convicted Tavlin, 68, of one count of conspiracy to commit insider trading and 10 counts of securities fraud and aiding and abetting securities fraud.

Farahan, 57, pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading.

Sentencing hearings for both defendants were not immediately scheduled.

Another defendant was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit insider trading and securities fraud, prosecutors said.