The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Seattle, charges the streaming service’s ex-staffers with violating antifraud provisions and trying to evade detection by using encrypted messaging applications. It also found that the staffers exchanged the information with relatives and friends so as to receive cash kickbacks in advance of several consecutive Netflix quarterly earnings, the SEC said.
“We allege that a Netflix employee and his close associates engaged in a long-running, multimillion
scheme to profit from valuable, misappropriated company information,” said Erin Schneider, director of the SEC’s San Francisco regional office. “The charges announced today hold each of the participants accountable for their roles in the scheme.”
