Key facts
- The SEC is moving to dismiss its insider trading lawsuit against Terren Peizer.
- Peizer was convicted of insider trading and securities fraud in 2024.
- President Donald Trump pardoned Peizer in January.
- Peizer sold over $20 million in Ontrak stock while in possession of material non-public negative information.
- He was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Friday that it is moving to dismiss its insider trading lawsuit against Terren Peizer, a former healthcare executive. Peizer, 65, was convicted of insider trading and securities fraud by a federal jury in 2024 and subsequently received a pardon from President Donald Trump in January of this year.
Peizer, the founder and former CEO of healthcare company Ontrak, was charged by the Department of Justice in 2023 with insider trading. The SEC initiated parallel civil charges at the time, which authorities described as groundbreaking for involving a pre-arranged stock-selling program intended to shield executives. Between May and August 2021, Peizer sold more than $20 million of Ontrak stock while possessing material non-public negative information about the company's largest customer.
Following his conviction in 2024, Peizer was sentenced in 2025 to 3.5 years in prison. He is a protege of Michael Milken, who was also pardoned by Trump in 2020. Critics and rights advocates have pointed to such pardons as examples of double standards, particularly in light of Trump's use of fraud claims against migrants.