A Sayville man has admitted his role in a years-long insider trading scheme that generated more than $1 million in illegal profits by exploiting confidential information about upcoming stock offerings, federal prosecutors announced.
John Lowe, 63, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to securities fraud. Richard Ringel, 56, of Boca Raton, Florida, also pleaded guilty during the same proceeding before U.S. Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl.
Two other defendants previously admitted their roles in the scheme. David Cooper, 40, of Larchmont, pleaded guilty in September 2025, while Randy Grewal, 55, of Anthem, Arizona, pleaded guilty in April 2026.
Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the conspiracy operated between January 2018 and May 2024 and centered on confidential information about upcoming secondary stock offerings.
Prosecutors said Cooper, a registered broker, and another employee at a broker-dealer obtained material non-public information from investment banks involved in underwriting stock offerings. The confidential information included details such as which company was preparing an offering, when it would occur, how it would be structured, and the planned offering price.
Authorities said the information was improperly shared with Lowe, Ringel and others, who then executed trades before the offerings were publicly announced. Lowe also passed confidential information to Grewal, allowing him to trade ahead of the announcements.
Federal investigators said the scheme generated more than $1 million in illegal profits.
The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps that captured conversations involving trades connected to multiple secondary offerings in early 2023.
Among the companies involved were Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Revelation Biosciences and Tivic Health Systems.
According to prosecutors, Lowe, Ringel and Grewal traded shares after receiving confidential information about planned offerings involving those companies, while Cooper helped obtain and distribute the inside information.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the defendants exploited confidential information for years to gain an unfair advantage over other investors.
“For years, the defendants brazenly exploited their access to inside information to gain an unfair advantage over the investing public,” Nocella said. “Insider trading destroys the public’s faith in the fairness and integrity of our markets.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations New York, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, with assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office.
Sentencing dates have not yet been announced.
