Level Global to pay $21.5 million to settle SEC insider-trading case

The now-defunct Connecticut-based hedge fund Level Global Investors LP has agreed to pay more than $21.5 million to settle civil insider-trading charges, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday.

The firm is settling the charges without admitting or denying them.

The SEC previously filed insider-trading charges against Level Global's co-founder Anthony Chiasson, former analyst Spyridon "Sam" Adondakis and six other defendants in January 2012.

Last year, a federal jury in Manhattan found Chiasson guilty of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud. The SEC's civil case against Chiasson is ongoing.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Gary Hill)