Overview

In September 2025, the Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal (the Tribunal) approved the settlement between the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and Huy Le (Alvin) Huynh (Huynh) and his spouse Thi Anh Nguyet (Nancy) Pham (Pham) related to their tipping and insider trading scheme. Both Huynh and Pham are Chartered Professional Accountants.

Relevant facts

In 2021, Huynh was Vice President of Finance at Score Media & Gaming Inc. (Score), a publicly traded digital sports media company. In July, Huynh learned of a pending acquisition of Score by Penn National Gaming, Inc. for approximately US$2 billion, which had not yet been disclosed to the public. He told Pham  and orchestrated a scheme whereby he provided US$10,000 to a friend of Pham, Jessica Tam, of which she used $7,000 to purchase over 300 Score call options in her TFSA between late July and early August. Any profit was to be split with 80% for Huynh and 20% for Tam. If Tam was ever questioned on the trading, Huynh told her what to say and even provided contact information of a lawyer who could assist her.

When the acquisition was announced on August 5, 2021, Tam sold the Score call options for US$318,800. The 80% share of the US$311,000 profits were paid in cash, slowly over time to Huynh. The parties used coded language in their WhatsApp messages to arrange deliveries of the payments.

Huynh and Pham cooperated with the OSC investigation and entered into a settlement agreement which was approved by the Tribunal.

Settlement Terms

The settlement agreement includes admissions by Huynh that he breached section 76(1) of the Ontario Securities Act (the Act) by trading while in possession of material non-public information and section 76(2) of the Act by tipping Tam and an admission by Pham that she engaged in conduct contrary to the public interest in breach of section 127(1) of the Act, by knowingly participating and benefitting from the scheme. While both respondents cooperated with the OSC investigation, the settlement terms were severe and the penalties substantial.

Huynh agreed to:

  • a seven‑year ban on trading and acquiring securities, except for limited transactions within registered accounts
  • a seven‑year ban from acting as a director or officer of any issuer or registrant
  • pay an administrative penalty of $325,000,
  • disgorge $270,000 in gains, and
  • contribute $40,000 toward the OSC’s investigation costs.

Pham agreed to:

  • a three‑year ban on trading in and acquiring securities
  • a three‑year ban from acting as a director or officer of any issuer or registrant
  • pay $10,000 toward the OSC’s investigation costs.

Sanctioning Factors Considered

In approving the settlement, the Tribunal took into account the following sanctioning factors:

  • the seriousness and highly egregiousness of Huynh’s conduct, deserving of the Tribunal’s heightened disapprobation. In particular, the Tribunal noted that he was a professional accountant, working in a senior financial role at a reporting issuer. His breaches of the Act were planned and deliberate. He took steps to hide his illicit actions and then to cover them up.
  • the need to deter Huynh but also any other person, from considering or engaging in similar conduct in the future, recalling that illegal insider trading and tipping have long been recognized as among the most serious breaches of Ontario securities law.
  • the cooperation with the OSC.

Key Takeaways

The OSC and the Tribunal expect that professionals, working in senior roles at reporting issuers, will comply with the Act and not engage in any conduct – be it directly or through intermediaries – that will harm the integrity of the markets and will severely sanction them if they do.

Use of code words in messaging apps will not shield unlawful conduct.

Beyond monetary penalties, the respondents faced career-altering restrictions. For senior executives and registered professionals, insider trading can mean the end of a career in finance.