Terren Scott Peizer

Terren Scott Peizer, Executive Chairman and former CEO of Ontrak, Inc. — a publicly traded behavioral health company — was convicted of one count of securities fraud and two counts of insider trading in a landmark case that was the first federal insider trading prosecution based exclusively on the misuse of Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. In May 2021, while in possession of material nonpublic information that Ontrak's largest customer — which accounted for more than half the company's revenue — was at risk of terminating its contract, Peizer established a 10b5-1 trading plan through his investment vehicle, Acuitas Group Holdings, LLC, falsely attesting that he had no knowledge of material nonpublic information. Under that plan he sold approximately 600,000 Ontrak shares worth more than $19.2 million. In August 2021, after learning the customer relationship was on the verge of collapse, he established a second trading plan and sold a further 45,000 shares worth approximately $1.9 million. When Ontrak publicly announced the contract termination on August 19, 2021, its stock price fell more than 44 percent; Peizer had avoided more than $12.7 million in losses. A Los Angeles federal jury convicted him following a nine-day trial in June 2024.