AI startup founder pleads guilty to receiving insider tips from BigLaw lawyers
The head of an artificial intelligence startup admitted his role last year in a scheme involving BigLaw attorneys informing traders about upcoming mergers that their employers were advising on. (Image from Shutterstock)
The head of an artificial intelligence startup admitted his role last year in a scheme involving BigLaw attorneys informing traders about upcoming mergers that their employers were advising on.
Arya Bolurfrushan, the founder and chief executive of Abu Dhabi-based AppliedAI and a former Goldman Sachs banker, pleaded guilty in 2025 after striking a deal with Boston prosecutors who were investigating suspects in a long-running insider trading deal.
Court records unsealed Monday and obtained by Reuters show charges against 30 people accused of engaging in a for-profit scheme involving trading confidential information about upcoming mergers.
According to prosecutors, Bolurfrushan traded on tips given to him by Nicolo Nourafchan, previously employed by the law firms Sidley Austin, Latham & Watkins and Goodwin Procter, and his partner, a personal injury attorney.
Bolurfrushan pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud and struck a plea deal with prosecutors, stipulating two years in prison and repayment of $954,496 that he gained from the scheme. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Nourafchan was at Goodwin Procter when he tipped off Bolurfrushan about a planned acquisition involving one of the firm’s clients. According to the SEC, Bolurfrushan passed on $60,000 to his accomplices.
Jordan Estes, Bolurfrushan’s lawyer, did not comment.
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