SEC Charges Trio of Fort Lauderdale-Area Doctors With Insider Trading

Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged three Fort Lauderdale-area medical doctors with illegal insider trading, alleging that they reaped a combined total of more than a half-million dollars in profits from their illicit scheme.

The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charges Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah (Zachariah) and his brother Dr. Mammen P. Zachariah in regard to illegal trading in the shares of two unrelated companies. The SEC alleges that Zachariah, a board member at pharmaceutical company IVAX Corporation, began illegally trading in IVAX securities only minutes after he learned that IVAX might be acquired. Zachariah also tipped his brother, who then purchased IVAX shares.

The SEC's complaint further alleges that the two brothers and Zachariah's friend Dr. Sheldon Nassberg also engaged in illegal insider trading in the stock of an unrelated company, Correctional Services Corporation, around the same time as the illegal IVAX trading.