Overview
- The Justice Department unsealed two indictments Wednesday, charging 30 people and coordinating 19 arrests across Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale, and New York, with two defendants described as fugitives in Russia and Israel.
- Prosecutors identify attorneys Nicolo Nourafchan and Robert Yadgarov as central organizers who pulled confidential merger files from law‑firm networks, including matters they were not assigned to and even during a leave of absence.
- The network allegedly hid its tracks with burner phones, encrypted apps, coded phrases, shell companies, and foreign brokerage accounts, while routing large cash kickbacks through intermediaries in places such as Panama and Switzerland.
- The case links nearly 30 major deals, including Amazon’s failed bid for iRobot, Johnson & Johnson’s purchase of Actelion, and Cigna’s acquisition of Express Scripts, and includes a parallel SEC suit plus charges such as securities fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
- Court filings show nine related guilty pleas and a cooperating former BigLaw lawyer, and the allegations highlight weak access controls at top firms that let a credentialed user browse sensitive deal documents without need.