Oct 11, 2026
The second of two Ontario tech workers who used confidential corporate information they accessed through their jobs to trade ahead of company announcements has been sentenced to jail and ordered to pay a $450,000 fine. That brings the pair’s combined financial penalties to more than $1.85 million.
“Investor confidence is fundamental to the integrity of Ontario’s capital markets,” OSC spokesperson Curtis Lindsay told Money.ca.
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“Illegal insider trading and other forms of market misconduct undermine confidence in the market by giving some participants an unfair advantage, which can discourage investor participation and weaken trust in our capital markets.”
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The cases highlight a risk for anyone who encounters confidential market information through their job: using it for trading or passing it along to others can lead to serious consequences.
What exactly happened?
John Natividad and Harpreet Saini worked as software developers at Intrado Corp., a newswire distribution service that operates GlobeNewswire. Their jobs gave them access to corporate press release information before it was publicly released.
Between May 2018 and July 2021, the pair repeatedly traded ahead of corporate announcements, according to the OSC. Both later pleaded guilty.
Natividad was sentenced this September to 90 days in jail, a $450,000 fine and two years of probation. The fine includes a mandatory 25% surcharge on the original $360,000 fine.
Saini was sentenced in September 2025 to six months less a day in jail and ordered to pay $1,149,114.93, covering disgorgement of his trading profits and an additional $100,000. With the mandatory 25% surcharge, his total comes to just over $1.4 million. Saini is also subject to various trading bans for 10 years pursuant to the Securities Act.
Natividad’s case involved trading on 234 unpublished press releases, while Saini traded based on 497 unpublished releases, according to OSC enforcement announcements.
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Do you have to be an executive to face insider-trading rules?
No. The OSC says insider-trading rules apply to all insiders, not just executives or those required to file formal insider reports.
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Insider reporting is a disclosure requirement that applies to certain people with access to material undisclosed information. Insider-trading rules, however, prohibit improperly trading while in possession of certain undisclosed information.
The Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal has also addressed the risks employees face when they encounter confidential market information through their work. In a March 2025 settlement with Thomas John Finch, the Tribunal said Finch had access, through his employment, to confidential information, which he used to trade in the securities of Liberty Health Sciences.
What if you see confidential information at work?
If you come across market-sensitive information at work, the basic rule is straightforward: don’t trade on it or pass it along to others.
The OSC told Money.ca that illegal insider trading and tipping can result in monetary penalties, disgorgement of profits, trading bans and director and officer bans, among other regulatory and quasi-criminal consequences. As the Natividad and Saini cases show, those consequences can include jail time.
If you become aware of a potential violation of Ontario securities law, including suspected insider trading or tipping, you can report it to the OSC through its Whistleblower Program. The program offers confidentiality protections and awards of up to $5 million for eligible tips that lead to successful enforcement outcomes.
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Steven Brennan is a freelance finance writer based in Vancouver, BC. He holds a BA and an MA from Maynooth University, Ireland. His work regularly appears at Canadian Mortgage Trends, Lowest Rates, Loans Canada and other Canadian and U.S. brands.
