SEC Asks Court to Enter Final Judgment by Consent vs. Arista Networks Co-Founder

The SEC seeks the entry of a final judgment by consent against Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder and chief architect of Arista Networks, to settle insider trading fraud allegations against him, said the commission’s administrative motion Tuesday (docket 5:24-cv-01845) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Jose. Bechtolsheim agreed last month to pay a $923,740 penalty, without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint (see 2403270009). He also agreed to be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years. The SEC alleges Bechtolsheim “misappropriated material nonpublic information” about the impending acquisition of Acacia Communications and used it to trade Acacia securities the day before the announcement of the company's purchase by Cisco Systems. Entry of the proposed final judgment, to which Bechtolsheim consented, “would fully resolve the SEC’s claims” against him “and conclude this case by giving effect to the parties’ settlement,” said the commission’s motion. The proposed final judgment and consent “are fair as they are the result of arm’s-length negotiations” between counsel for the SEC and Bechtolsheim, it said.