(HedgeCo.NET) The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two Rhode Island men with insider trading in the securities of deal targets being pursued by the pharmaceutical company where one of them worked.

The SEC alleges that Michael J. Maciocio obtained confidential clinical and business data about other pharmaceutical firms being considered by his company for potential acquisitions and business relationships, and he used the nonpublic information to trade in their stocks. Maciocio made approximately $116,000 in illegal profits trading in such pharmaceutical companies as Medivation Inc., Ardea Biosciences, and Furiex Pharmaceuticals.

The SEC further alleges that Maciocio illegally tipped his friend since childhood, stockbroker David P. Hobson, who utilized the nonpublic information to realize at least $187,000 in illicit trading profits for himself and $145,000 for his customers.

“We allege that Maciocio and Hobson engaged in a multi-year insider trading scheme by repeatedly using the confidential information of Maciocio’s employer to place illicit trades,” said Joseph G. Sansone, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit. “Given his years of experience in the securities industry, Hobson’s misuse of this highly sensitive corporate deal information represents an especially egregious violation of the law.”

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Maciocio and Hobson.