May 21, 2019
A roommate of former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks allegedly participated in the widely publicized insider trading scheme that netted the NFL player approximately $1.2 million, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Mark Wayne Ramsey, 29, of San Francisco, was charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and four counts of securities fraud after FBI and SEC investigators discovered additional information about the case.
Between July and Nov. 2014, Ramsey allegedly conspired with Kendricks and his associate, Damilare Sonoiki, to use material, non-public information to purchase call options for four companies on the cusp of mergers.
Sonoiki, who was then a junior analyst at a New York global investment bank, funneled the information to Kendricks about four clients of the bank: Compuware Corporation, Move, Inc., Sapient Corporation, and Oplink Communications LLC.
In each case, the value of the options rose significantly at the time of the eventual merger, allowing Kendricks to capitalize on the information.
Both Sonoiki and Kendricks pleaded guilty to similar charges last year. They are still awaiting sentencing after April court dates were postponed.
The new indictment alleges Kendricks gave Ramsey access to his brokerage account to help complete transactions. Ramsay allegedly received $15,000 and other unnamed incentives from Kendricks for his assistance.
Kendricks, 28, was drafted by the Eagles in 2012 and spent six seasons in Philadelphia, culminating with the team's Super Bowl victory in 2018. He signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent and was cut when the indictment became public last August. He's now a member of the Seattle Seahawks and served an eight-game suspension last season.
