Brandon Charnas, known as the husband of influencer Ariel Charnas of the clothing company Something Navy, is reportedly under criminal investigation for his involvement in an insider trading scheme.
Brandon Charnas, co-founder of Manhattan-based Current Real Estate Advisors, is already under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for $385,000, and regulators are investigating Staples for a rival office. The company says it used non-public information about the bid for the depot. According to Bloomberg.
However, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the Justice Department is currently investigating his transactions.
Charnas is named in court documents along with nine others, including Brett Mufson, president of Fountainbleau Development in Miami. Jesse Cole, former chief of New York-based fashion brand Haute Hippie. According to Bloomerg, Charnas’ business partners include Stefano Santoro and others.
Many of the traders involved in the investigation have known Mr. Charnas for years. Bloomberg noted that Mr. Mufson and Mr. Charnas graduated together from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007 and that Mr. Kohl’s venture capital firm invested in them. Something Navy, founded by Ariel Charnas She shared about her New York City style and gained millions of followers on social media.
Deputies are investigating Charnas’ whereabouts in late December 2020, when she met friends for lunch in Miami.
About an hour after the meeting, Charnas invested $31,000 in Office Depot call options, Bloomberg reported, citing the SEC. It was a five-figure bet that the office supplies retailer’s stock price would rise.
Over the next few days, Charnas and other traders under investigation bought options and stock in Office Depot’s parent company, ODP, Inc., the SEC said.
On January 11, 2021, about two weeks after Charnas’ lunch meeting in question, the stock price went from less than $30 per share to nearly $43 after Staples offered $2.1 billion to its longtime rival. It skyrocketed.
One trader texted “You’re welcome” in a group chat, and another said, “It’s that guy,” according to SEC documents. It was not immediately clear who sent these text messages.
The day after Staples announced its $40 per share bid for ODP, Charnas sold half of his call options, according to an SEC filing obtained by Bloomberg. The move resulted in a profit of $385,000, or 653%.
Staples’ ODP proposal was reportedly rejected, but by February 23, 2023, Charnas’ phone exploded with news of “unusual trading activity” at Office Depot ahead of the closing. It is said that he did.
“Wow,” one trader wrote on the heavily redacted exchange, adding: “The market has moved!”
“Wow,” Charnas responded, and another person chimed in, “I’ll be there tomorrow,” according to a group chat screenshot used by the SEC as an exhibit.
According to Bloomberg, the SEC’s investigation is ongoing, focusing on a dispute over a subpoena the agency sent to Mr. Charnas seeking to hand over text messages, which had not previously been widely documented by the Justice Department. His involvement was first revealed.
The Justice Department’s criminal investigation is reportedly in its early stages, and it remains to be seen whether Charnas and his associates will face criminal charges.
Charnas is previously represented by attorney John Lauro, whose clients include former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Lauro won a judgment in Florida blocking the SEC from obtaining Mr. Charnas’ text messages, and the agency is considering an appeal.
Mr. Charnas subsequently appointed former SEC Supervisory Trial Counsel David Axelrod as an advisor.
The newspaper reached out to Lauro and Axelrod for comment.
Outside of the insider trading scandal, Charnas works in real estate, according to his LinkedIn profile, but his wife still promotes her stylish outfits to her 1.3 million followers on her personal Instagram account @ariellecharnas. ing.
The @somethingnavy Instagram account has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. Scheduled to be sold to apparel conglomerate IHL Group It was trading for just $1 before pulling out of the deal just last month and accusing the Something Navy team of bad business strategy.
