Restaurant Consultant, Friends Charged By SEC With Insider Trading In PF Chang's

A restaurant consultant and his friends were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with insider trading in then publicly traded PF Chang's Bistro Group. The SEC alleges that Richard Condon, a consultant to Panda Restaurant Group, tipped off three friends that PF Chang's was going to be approached by Panda with a takeover bid, and that the friends bought out-of-the-money stock options in PF Chang's. One of the friends has died and has not been charged; another, Ali Sagheb, agreed to pay $19,829 to settle the case; while a third, Jonathan Ross, is still in litigation with the SEC, as is Condon. Centerbridge Partners ended up buying PF Chang's.