The Insider Trading Probe That Ensnared a Fashion Influencer’s Husband

  • Brandon Charnas under scrutiny over Office Depot trades
  • Texts and trades at heart of probes detailed in SEC documents
Arielle and Brandon Charnas in 2019.Photographer: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Brandon Charnas, already famous for being married to a social media icon, and infamous for refusing to cooperate with an insider-trading probe, is advancing into notoriety.

Not only is the US Securities and Exchange Commission looking at the $385,000 the regulator says he made using potentially non-public information about a bid by Staples for rival Office Depot. Now the Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation into the trades, according to people with knowledge of the matter.