US SEC Charges Former Quant Analyst for a Millionaire Front-Running Scheme
- Polevikov allegedly generated illicit profits of around $8.5 million with his scheme.

From at least January 2014 through to October 2019, the former quantitive analyst had privileged access to his employers’ securities orders and trades with the purpose of trading on his own scheme. The court documents filed before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York alleged that on nearly 3,000 occasions, Polevikov bought or sold stock on the same side as his employers were trading.
“Polevikov typically would close his positions the same day as he opened them, capitalizing on the price movement caused by his employers’ large trades. The SEC alleges that Polevikov concealed his fraudulent scheme by executing the trades in the account of his wife, Maryna Arystava, who uses a different last name,” the SEC noted in the announcement.
SEC Seeks Injunctive Relief
That said, Polevikov was charged with violating the antifraud and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws. So now, the US SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, plus interest, penalties and injunctive relief. “As alleged in our complaint, Polevikov abused his position as a quantitative analyst and his employers’ trust by repeatedly trading ahead of large trades that the firms placed for advisory clients. Although Polevikov allegedly tried to hide his misconduct by using his wife’s account, SEC analysts were able to uncover this deceptive scheme by identifying a consistent pattern of profitable trading in coordination with the employers’ trades,” Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit, commented.
Recently, the US SEC obtained emergency relief in a millionaire Ponzi Scheme Ponzi Scheme A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. Read this Term and filed charges against an investment adviser involved in the saga.
From at least January 2014 through to October 2019, the former quantitive analyst had privileged access to his employers’ securities orders and trades with the purpose of trading on his own scheme. The court documents filed before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York alleged that on nearly 3,000 occasions, Polevikov bought or sold stock on the same side as his employers were trading.
“Polevikov typically would close his positions the same day as he opened them, capitalizing on the price movement caused by his employers’ large trades. The SEC alleges that Polevikov concealed his fraudulent scheme by executing the trades in the account of his wife, Maryna Arystava, who uses a different last name,” the SEC noted in the announcement.
SEC Seeks Injunctive Relief
That said, Polevikov was charged with violating the antifraud and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws. So now, the US SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, plus interest, penalties and injunctive relief. “As alleged in our complaint, Polevikov abused his position as a quantitative analyst and his employers’ trust by repeatedly trading ahead of large trades that the firms placed for advisory clients. Although Polevikov allegedly tried to hide his misconduct by using his wife’s account, SEC analysts were able to uncover this deceptive scheme by identifying a consistent pattern of profitable trading in coordination with the employers’ trades,” Joseph G. Sansone, Chief of the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit, commented.
Recently, the US SEC obtained emergency relief in a millionaire Ponzi Scheme Ponzi Scheme A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. A Ponzi scheme is a scam that looks to lure investors, ultimately paying profits to earlier investors with funds from more later investors.This form of fraud tricks victims into believing that products are instead generated from product sales or other means. In actuality, most investors are completely oblivious to the actual origin of incoming funds.One of the central attributes of a Ponzi scheme is the necessity of its ongoing nature, which is dependent on a steady flow of new contributions and funds. This can unravel quickly should investors request or demand repayment or lose faith in whatever assets they are supposed to own.While earlier episodes of this scam were carried out historically, the name Ponzi scheme is associated with Charles Ponzi in the 1920s.His original scam was based on the legitimate arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps. This eventually gave way to diverting new investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and to himself.How to Identify Ponzi Schemes?Like any scam, Ponzi schemes follow a few basic trends that investors should be mindful of. A healthy amount of skepticism in regards to investing should always be present, which should help identify ways that scams look to market themselves.For example, Ponzi schemes almost always require an initial investment and promise above average returns. This also includes purposely vague or arbitrary terminology to help confuse more novice investors. This fraud is riddled with mentions of "high-yield investment programs", "offshore investment", or “guaranteed returns”.Any sort of investment opportunity should always be analyzed and researched. In the modern era, many tools are available to identify scams or fraudulent operations.Regulators in most jurisdictions are constantly policing against these forms of market abuse and it is important to check these registers before actually investing in dubious opportunities. Read this Term and filed charges against an investment adviser involved in the saga.