Nicolo Nourafchan

Nicolo Nourafchan
Born:
Occupation:	Attorney (mergers and acquisitions)
Known for:	Defendant in a 2026 federal insider-trading prosecution
Charges:	Conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice (alleged; charged, not convicted)
Sentence:
Facility:
Status:	Charged, awaiting trial

Nicolo Nourafchan is an American mergers and acquisitions attorney who was charged in May 2026 in a federal insider-trading case in the District of Massachusetts. Prosecutors allege he was a central figure in a multi-year scheme that traded ahead of nearly 30 corporate merger announcements using confidential information taken from elite law firms. Nourafchan has not been convicted of any offense. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, and under United States law he is presumed innocent unless and until the government proves the charges beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The case was unsealed on May 6, 2026. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced charges against roughly 30 people, of whom about 19 were arrested. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil enforcement action the same week. Prosecutors describe Nourafchan, a 2011 graduate of Yale Law School, as the alleged architect of the scheme and say he allegedly recruited other corporate lawyers as sources for cash. These remain allegations. No allegation in the indictment has been proven, and Nourafchan denies wrongdoing.

Background and Legal Career

Nourafchan graduated from Yale Law School in 2011. Prosecutors and contemporaneous reporting state that he practiced corporate law at several large national firms between 2013 and 2023, a stretch of his career that included work on mergers and acquisitions. Reporting on the indictment lists Sidley Austin, Latham & Watkins, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and Goodwin Procter among the firms where he is said to have worked during that period.

Mergers and acquisitions lawyers routinely handle material nonpublic information about pending corporate transactions, including the identities of acquirers and targets, proposed prices, and expected announcement dates. The federal securities laws prohibit trading on that information, or passing it to others to trade, when doing so breaches a duty of trust or confidence. The government's theory in this case rests on that body of law.

Nourafchan's co-defendant Robert Yadgarov is described in reporting as an attorney and a college classmate of Nourafchan. Prosecutors allege the two coordinated the trading network, though Yadgarov, like every defendant, is presumed innocent of the charges against him.

The Alleged Insider-Trading Ring

According to the indictment and the parallel SEC complaint, the alleged scheme operated for roughly a decade, with the trading activity concentrated in the years from about 2018 through 2024. Prosecutors allege that confidential merger information was misappropriated from law firms representing parties to the deals and then funneled to a network of traders who placed trades before the transactions became public.

The government alleges the network traded ahead of nearly 30 merger and acquisition transactions. Reporting on the case identifies firms whose deals were allegedly compromised, including Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Latham & Watkins; and Goodwin Procter. Among the specific transactions cited in connection with the alleged trading is Amazon.com's 2022 proposal to acquire the robotics company iRobot. The SEC litigation release names Nourafchan first among a long list of defendants that includes Robert Yadgarov and numerous relatives, classmates, and associates.

Prosecutors allege that the lawyer-sources were paid cash for tips, and that traders who profited agreed to kick back a portion of their gains up the chain. The government has said the network's participants were based in several states, including New York, New Jersey, Florida, and California, and that some traders were located abroad, in Russia and Israel. Two defendants were described as fugitives at the time the charges were unsealed. The alleged profits are described by the government as totaling tens of millions of dollars.

These descriptions reflect the government's accusations. They have not been tested at trial, and Nourafchan has entered a plea of not guilty.

Charges

The indictment in United States v. Nourafchan, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, charges defendants with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, substantive securities fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Reporting indicates that Nourafchan also faces additional counts of obstruction of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1519, based on alleged conduct during the investigation. The case was docketed as 1:26-cr-10115 in the District of Massachusetts.

Nourafchan was among roughly 19 defendants arrested when the charges were unsealed on May 6, 2026. On June 1, 2026, he appeared in federal court in Boston and, along with more than a dozen other defendants, pleaded not guilty to the charges. At that hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein raised a question about Nourafchan's brother, co-defendant Lorenzo Nourafchan, paying his legal fees, cautioning that the two "may have different interests as this goes on." Nourafchan and his attorneys declined to comment after the appearance. Reporting indicates that defendants face up to 25 years in prison on the most serious counts if convicted, although no conviction has occurred and the government bears the burden of proof.

Separately, several other defendants in the broader case were reported to have entered guilty pleas before the May 2026 unsealing, including attorney Gabriel Gershowitz, described in reporting as a cooperating witness. Those guilty pleas concern those individuals and do not establish any allegation against Nourafchan, who maintains his innocence.

An indictment is an accusation. It is not evidence of guilt. Under the United States Constitution, a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is Nicolo Nourafchan?

Nicolo Nourafchan is an American mergers and acquisitions attorney and a 2011 graduate of Yale Law School. In May 2026 he was charged in a federal insider-trading case in the District of Massachusetts, where prosecutors allege he was a central figure in a scheme that traded ahead of corporate merger announcements. He has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.

Q: What is Nicolo Nourafchan charged with?

He is charged in the District of Massachusetts with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Reporting also indicates he faces additional counts of obstruction of justice. These are allegations only. No charge has been proven, and Nourafchan has pleaded not guilty.

Q: Has Nicolo Nourafchan been convicted?

No. Nourafchan has not been convicted of any offense. He pleaded not guilty at his June 1, 2026 arraignment in federal court in Boston. Under United States law, he is presumed innocent unless and until the government proves the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Q: What is the alleged insider-trading ring?

Prosecutors allege a multi-year scheme in which confidential merger information was misappropriated from elite law firms and used to trade ahead of nearly 30 mergers and acquisitions, generating tens of millions of dollars in alleged profits. Roughly 30 people were charged and about 19 were arrested when the case was unsealed on May 6, 2026. The allegations have not been proven at trial.

Q: Where did Nicolo Nourafchan work as a lawyer?

Reporting on the indictment states that Nourafchan practiced corporate law between 2013 and 2023, with the firms cited including Sidley Austin, Latham & Watkins, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and Goodwin Procter. He graduated from Yale Law School in 2011.

Q: What sentence could Nicolo Nourafchan face?

Reporting indicates that defendants in the case face up to 25 years in prison on the most serious counts if convicted. Nourafchan has not been convicted, and any sentence would be determined only after a trial or other resolution. He maintains his innocence.