Senior Operations Director Charged in Federal Insider Trading Case; Matter Unresolved
Prosecutors in Manhattan say David Pidgeon traded ahead of a Treace Medical Concepts earnings release. The case is at the charging stage only \been been recorded — no plea, trial or verdict.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 18, 2026, 3:55 p.m. ET
Federal prosecutors announced on August 18, 2026 the unsealing of an indictment charging David Pidgeon, 40, of Jacksonville, Florida, with securities fraud stemming from alleged insider trading, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (release number ). **The matter stands at the charging stage and remains undecided: the indictment is an accusation, no plea, trial or verdict is recorded in the announcement, and nothing in it resolves the question of guilt.**
According to that release, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald and FBI Miami Field Office Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles announced the unsealing. Pidgeon was arrested the same day and, per the release, will be presented in Boston, Massachusetts. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Reardon in federal district court.
As alleged in the indictment described in the release, Pidgeon, then Senior Director of Operations at Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. ("TMCI"), obtained material nonpublic information in or about October 2025 about TMCI's lower sales volume and difficulty meeting its financial projections. Days before TMCI's third quarter earnings announcement, the release alleges, he sold shares of other issuers and used the proceeds to purchase short-term put options in TMCI stock — trades that allegedly occurred during a company-wide blackout period, and in violation of company policies barring employees from trading TMCI options at any time. On November 6, 2025, after market close, TMCI announced third quarter results including a net loss of $16.3 million and downwardly adjusted 2025 revenue projections. The following day, TMCI's stock price dropped approximately 28%, and Pidgeon sold all of his TMCI options, according to the release. Every fact in that account is an allegation.
McDonald said in the release that "when corporate insiders misuse confidential information for personal gain, they undermine the integrity of our financial system," and pointed to "the speed with which we were able to bring" the charges. Skiles said the FBI "is committed to protecting investors, maintaining a free and fair market, and holding accountable anyone who attempts to profit through deception and unlawful insider trading."
Pidgeon is with one count of securities fraud under Title 15 of the United States Code, carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of securities fraud under Title 18, carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years. The release notes those maximums are set by Congress and provided for informational purposes only, as any sentencing would be determined by the judge. The prosecution is being handled by the office's Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney L. Heavey in charge. The release also credits the FBI, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
**Status as of this writing:** the case has not been resolved. In the words of the release, "" Readers encountering this article later should not treat it as reporting any outcome; no outcome had been reached at the charging stage described here.
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