A former Morgan Stanley financial adviser was arrested on Friday on charges of illegally tipping a friend to an $11 billion pharmaceutical deal in exchange for $35,000 and a jet ski dock, federal officials said.
The adviser, Kevin Dowd, 37, was a registered representative in the Aventura, Florida, branch office of a brokerage firm between 2005 and 2012, said the U.S. Attorney's office in New Jersey, which brought the criminal case.
U.S. prosecutors and market regulators said Dowd leaked details in 2011 about a pending deal by Gilead Sciences to acquire New Jersey-based Pharmasset Inc. Dowd was tipped off by a member of Pharmasset's board, who was the Aventura branch's biggest customer, prosecutors said.
A lawyer for Dowd was not immediately available for comment.
Dowd was charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Florida later on Friday. The Securities and Exchange Commission regulator filed civil charges.
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