When a confidential corporate deal lands on an analyst’s desk, the expectation is simple: keep it private. Federal prosecutors and securities regulators say that trust was broken in spectacular fashion by a young Miami-area financial consultant who allegedly turned inside information about a billion-dollar acquisition into a lucrative opportunity for his father and close friends.
The case centers on Federico Nannini, a 26-year-old former associate at a consulting firm that was advising infrastructure giant MasTec on its planned acquisition of Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives (IEA), a publicly traded energy and construction company. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, Nannini was given access to highly sensitive, nonpublic information about the transaction in June 2022. Rather than keeping that information confidential, authorities allege he shared it with members of his inner circle, setting off a chain of trades that ultimately generated more than $1.1 million in illegal profits.
The government’s account reads less like a sophisticated Wall Street conspiracy and more like a friends-and-family operation that relied on trust, text messages, and the belief that nobody would notice. Regulators say the scheme began shortly after Nannini learned that MasTec was pursuing the acquisition of IEA. On June 8, 2022, one day after receiving access to the confidential information, he allegedly tipped his father, Mauro Nannini, a 63-year-old Coral Gables resident. Mauro quickly began buying IEA shares, eventually accumulating tens of thousands of shares worth more than $310,000.
A week later, prosecutors say Federico expanded the circle. He allegedly shared the information with his close friend Alejandro Thermiotis, also 26, who responded by investing heavily in IEA securities. Court filings indicate that Thermiotis purchased more than $1.6 million worth of IEA stock before the market became aware of the pending acquisition. Authorities allege that Thermiotis then passed the information to another friend, Francisco Tonarely, 25, who also purchased shares ahead of the public announcement.
What makes the case particularly damaging for the defendants is the volume of communications cited by investigators. According to the SEC complaint and criminal indictment, Federico continued providing updates about the status of the deal as negotiations progressed. When uncertainty arose regarding whether the acquisition would be completed, Mauro allegedly sold his position. When Federico later received information suggesting the transaction was moving forward, investigators say he sent messages indicating confidence that the deal would close. Those updates allegedly prompted additional trading activity.
Federal prosecutors highlighted a series of text messages that they say reveal both the flow of information and the participants’ awareness of its sensitivity. In one exchange cited by the indictment, Thermiotis reportedly told Tonarely, “Not a soul okay,” after passing along the tip. Tonarely allegedly replied that he understood. Another exchange occurred after the acquisition became public and the profits were realized. According to court filings, Federico sent Thermiotis a photo of a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch and asked whether he could “hook it up” for him. Regulators argue that the message suggests an expected reward for providing the valuable information.
The acquisition announcement finally arrived on July 25, 2022. When MasTec publicly disclosed its plan to acquire IEA, the target company’s stock price jumped more than 31 percent in a single day. According to the SEC, Mauro Nannini, Thermiotis, and Tonarely quickly sold their positions and locked in approximately $1.1 million in combined profits. Investigators say those gains were directly tied to material nonpublic information that should never have been shared outside the deal team.
The fallout took more than two years to arrive publicly, but when it did, it came from multiple directions at once. In September 2024, the SEC filed a civil enforcement action against all four men. The agency accused them of violating federal securities laws and sought injunctions, civil penalties, and disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest. On the same day, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida unsealed a criminal indictment charging the group with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and multiple counts of securities fraud.
The criminal case carries potentially severe consequences. Securities fraud convictions can result in lengthy prison sentences, substantial fines, and forfeiture of assets connected to the alleged misconduct. Prosecutors also included forfeiture allegations in the indictment, signaling an effort to recover profits linked to the trades.
The case attracted additional attention because of Thermiotis’ family connections. News reports noted that he is related to the Jordanian royal family through his brother’s marriage to Princess Iman, daughter of King Abdullah II of Jordan. While that relationship has no direct connection to the alleged insider-trading scheme, it added an unexpected international dimension to a case that otherwise revolved around a small group of friends from Miami.
Investigators also uncovered details about Federico Nannini’s professional situation after the trades. According to the SEC complaint, he worked at the consulting firm from July 2021 until January 2023, when he resigned after failing to cooperate with the firm’s internal inquiry into suspicious trading activity surrounding the MasTec-IEA transaction. That internal review appears to have been one of the early warning signs that eventually led regulators and law enforcement to the alleged scheme.
As of the latest publicly available court records, the SEC’s civil action and related criminal proceedings remain part of the public record, and the criminal allegations have not been proven in court. The defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence, and prosecutors must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The SEC’s allegations similarly remain allegations unless established through litigation or settlement. Public filings available so far do not indicate that the defendants admitted wrongdoing.
Yet regardless of how the litigation ultimately ends, the case offers a reminder of how insider-trading investigations often unfold. Modern enforcement actions are rarely built on complicated financial engineering alone. Text messages, trading records, phone logs, and digital communications frequently provide investigators with a roadmap. What may feel like a private conversation among friends can become powerful evidence when paired with perfectly timed stock purchases and sudden profits.
For investors, the broader significance goes beyond the four men charged in Miami. Public markets function only when participants believe everyone is operating under the same rules. Insider trading undermines that confidence by giving select individuals an unfair advantage over ordinary investors who do not have access to secret corporate information. Whether the allegations ultimately result in convictions, settlements, or dismissals, the case serves as another example of regulators aggressively pursuing trades that appear to profit from confidential information. In an era where digital communications leave lasting trails, even a supposedly private tip between family and friends can end up costing far more than it ever earned.
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