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by Mike Caswell

A U.S. federal judge has imposed a six-month jail term on Kristyn Pearl, one of those charged for insider trading in Vancouver-Seattle biopharmaceutical listing Chinook Therapeutics Inc. ahead of a takeover. The government claimed that Ms. Pearl, a resident of Puerto Rico, received an "illicit gift of confidential [information]" from her stepfather. She then bought out-of-the-money options designed to profit from the takeover.

Ms. Pearl, 35, received her sentence in an appearance before a federal judge in New Jersey on Tuesday, June 23. In addition to the six months in prison, the judge ordered Ms. Pearl to serve two years of supervised release. She must surrender herself to prison authorities by Sept. 23, 2026.

Still awaiting sentencing is Ms. Pearl's stepfather, Boston resident Ross Haghighat. Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Haghighat, 62, tipped Ms. Pearl and others after he learned about the takeover offer, which came from Novartis AG. The overall scheme generated $600,000 in gains. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Mr. Haghighat learned about the takeover through board meetings, the government said.

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