Informant in KPMG insider trading case sentenced to 5 months in prison

A federal judge sentenced Encino jeweler Bryan Shaw to five months in prison for his role in an insider trading scheme with a KPMG accountant that netted him more than $1.6 million in profits over a two-year period.

Shaw, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George Wu, who shaved a month off the prosecution’s recommendation for a six-month sentence.

Shaw, who was joined by several family members in court, fought through tears to deliver a handwritten apology to Wu before the sentencing.

“I assure you that you will never, ever see me again,” Shaw said, his voice quivering.

The jeweler’s lawyers argued in favor of a lower sentence due to the jeweler’s valuable cooperation and lack of criminal history.

But the judge said that it would set the wrong precedent for others involved in insider trading.

“That’s being overly, overly generous,” Judge Wu said after passing the sentence.

Using confidential information and tips from KPMG accountant Scott London, Shaw made approximately $1.6 million in profitable trades through illegally provided information about acquisitions and other company activities of clients of the giant accounting firm, including Herbalife and Sketchers USA, between 2010 and 2012.

After federal regulators froze Shaw’s investment account due to suspicious activity, the jeweler fully confessed, paid back nearly $2 million in illegally gained profits and fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and cooperated in the investigation against London.

Earlier this year, London was sentenced to 14 months in a federal prison.