Chicago man charged with illegally trading Lake Forest company stock

A former financial analyst for a north suburban medical waste management company used insider information to trade shares of the company ahead of an earnings report, according to a federal criminal charge filed today by the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago.

Matthew C. Brunstrum, a 26-year-old Chicago man, was charged with one count of securities fraud by insider trading.

During the investigation into Brunstrum's dealings, representatives from the Securities and Commodities Fraud section of the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago seized $328,959 in illegal profits, according to a news release issued by the agency Tuesday afternoon.

In April 2016, Brunstrum earned profits and avoided losses from trades he made of Lake Forest-based Stericycle Inc., where he worked as a financial analyst, according to the release.

Brunstrum and a relative made the profitable trades just before Stericycle's chief financial officer acknowledged on a conference call with investors that their earnings per share were around 5 percent lower than the company had projected, the release said. After the news came out, Stericycle's stock price fell more than 20 percent.

If found guilty of insider trading, Brunstrum could face up to 20 years in prison.