Second pharmaceutical executive indicted in insider trading scheme

Mylan’s chief information officer was indicted last week for his alleged role in an insider trading scheme another executive pleaded guilty to last year.
The case against Ramkumar Rayapureddy, 54, of Upper St. Clair, was unsealed Thursday. A grand jury has charged him with conspiracy and securities fraud for activity that took place between September 2017 and July 2019.
Mylan became Viatris in 2020 after merging with a division of Pfizer. The company is based in Cecil Township.
A company spokesperson said Rayapureddy is currently on a leave of absence.
“We take the government’s allegations made (Thursday) against Ramkumar Rayapureddy very seriously and will continue to review the matter in the same fashion. The company is committed to the highest standards of integrity and compliance with the law,” the spokesperson said. “We have and will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities, and we expect to have no further comment on this matter.”
In September 2021, former IT executive Dayakar Mallu, 51, of Orlando, Fla., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and preparing false tax returns.
Court records related to Mallu’s case only referred to Rayapureddy as an unnamed co-conspirator.
According to the indictment, Rayapureddy would tip off Mallu before public announcements of drug approvals by the FDA.
Charging documents also accuse Rayapureddy of informing Mallu about the merger between Mylan and Pfizer before it was public knowledge.
Mallu made more than $4.2 million from Rayapureddy’s tips and shared those profits with him, court documents state. According to court records, Mallu would pay Rayapureddy with both direct and indirect cash payments.
The indictment states that the men would use foreign currencies and intermediaries to deliver the payments in a foreign country.
Rayapureddy was arraigned Thursday at the federal courthouse in downtown Pittsburgh. U.S. Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly released him on $500,000 unsecured bond.