Authorities arrest a relative of the King of Jordan and 3 others for $1M insider-trading plot

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MIAMI (Reuters) – Authorities have charged four men, including a relative of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, with conspiring to engage in insider trading in shares of a company acquired by a major South Florida public company, Mastic Inc.

Federico Nannini, 26, his father Mauro Nannini, 63, and two friends, Alejandro Termotis, 26, and Francesco Tonnarelli, 25, were arrested Friday and charged with federal conspiracy to commit securities fraud and 24 related crimes, the Miami Herald reported.

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Thermoutis is a relative of the King of Jordan. Thermoutis’ brother, Jamil, married King Abdullah’s daughter, Princess Iman, last year. The Jordanian royal palace did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the indictment issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the four defendants shared confidential information within a close circle of family and friends, used it to buy stocks at a lower price and then profited by $1 million after the information became public.

The SEC also filed a parallel civil lawsuit against them in federal court in Miami. The four made their first court appearances on Friday.

Federal authorities said the alleged scheme began in June 2022 when consultant Federico Nannini began advising MasTec on its planned acquisition of Indiana-based Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives.

MasTec is an engineering and construction company based in Coral Gables, Florida, that provides infrastructure services to the energy, utility and telecommunications industries.

Federico Nannini then began sharing confidential information with his father, Mauro Nannini, and Thermotis, a close friend, according to the indictment. Federico Nannini, Thermotis and Tonnarelli had attended Gulliver Preparatory School together in Pinecrest, Florida, a suburban community in Miami-Dade County.

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Mauro Nannini bought shares in the infrastructure and alternative energy company the day after his son received financial information related to the proposed acquisition of Mastec, the indictment says.

Thermiotis also passed on inside information about the deal to Tonarely.

As the MasTec acquisition progressed, Federico Nannini continued to brief his father and close friend, Thermotes, on the details of the deal. In turn, Thermotes continued to share inside information with Tonarely, prosecutors said.

Sometime in July 2022, when Federico Nannini became concerned that the takeover would not work out, Mauro Nannini sold his shares in the IEA, according to the indictment.

When Federico Nannini received confidential financial data indicating that the acquisition was going ahead, he texted Thermotes, who responded.

At that point, Mauro Nannini began buying back his stake in IEA stock and options, according to the indictment.

When MasTec’s acquisition of IEA was publicly announced on July 25, 2022, Mauro Nannini, Thermotes, and Tonarelli sold their IEA shares and options for a profit.

A conviction on the conspiracy to commit securities fraud charges carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, while a conviction on the 24 securities fraud charges carries a maximum penalty of 20 to 25 years in prison.

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