A federal courtroom in San Diego recently handed down sentences to three former minor league baseball players who had been caught up in an insider‑trading scandal tied to the fast‑food chain Del Taco.
Jordan Joseph Qsar, Grant Lee Witherspoon and Austin Lane Bernard each learned of Jack in the Box’s pending acquisition of Del Taco from a friend who worked in the company’s strategic finance department. The trio acted on that non‑public information, buying Del Taco stock before the deal was announced to the public in late 2021.
When the acquisition became public, the three sold their holdings, pocketing between $42,768 and $64,693 each. Prosecutors noted that the amounts were modest compared with typical insider‑trading gains, but the case still attracted attention because of the defendants’ athletic backgrounds.
A Quiet Settlement
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission both pursued the matter, with the SEC settling its portion in 2024. While more than a dozen other individuals had also benefited from the tip, authorities said it was difficult to prove a clear intent to trade on insider information, leading to a decision not to charge them.
In the end, the prosecution and defense agreed on sentences of time served, and the court accepted that the felony convictions themselves would serve as a deterrent. Legal observers say the case illustrates the fine line between casual tip‑sharing among friends and prosecutable insider trading.