- Brandon Charnas isn't cooperating with an investigation into "possible insider trading violations," the SEC said.
- Charnas — the husband of Something Navy influencer Arielle Charnas — bought Office Depot stock in 2021, the SEC says.
- The SEC said it "has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws."
The SEC says Brandon Charnas — the husband of Something Navy founder Arielle Charnas — isn't cooperating with its investigation into "possible insider trading violations," according to a Tuesday press release.
Charnas made stock trades before an announcement that Staples wanted to acquire Office Depot, the SEC said in its statement.
The SEC alleged Charnas bought stock in ODP — Office Depot's parent company — "a few weeks prior to the announcement, resulting in combined profits of at least $385,000."
"On December 23, 2020, surrounding communications with other traders in ODP, Charnas purchased out-of-the-money call options constituting approximately 90% of ODP's overall call option trading volume that day," the press release states.
Charnas didn't immediately respond to a request for comment and his company didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The SEC said Charnas hasn't cooperated with the probe, "improperly asserted" his Fifth Amendment right, and refused to turn over documents.
The agency says it's filed a petition in court to force Charnas to comply.
The SEC said its investigation is ongoing and it "has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws."
The SEC investigation follows months of speculation over the personal and professional lives of Charnas and his wife, Arielle, a fashion blogger with 1.3 million Instagram followers who launched her own clothing brand in 2020.
In November 2022, rumors started spreading rapidly on Reddit and gossip Instagram account DeuxMoi that Charnas was embezzling from his wife's company, Something Navy, and that the couple was divorcing. Arielle shut down the divorce chatter through her representative. Her company's CEO, Matt Scanlan, denied that Charnas had embezzled from Something Navy.
In December, an Insider investigation found that Arielle's company was struggling to stay afloat amid an employee exodus, lackluster sales, and delayed payments to factories and models. Things have only gotten worse in recent months. Insider reported last month that the CEO was leaving, most employees had either quit or been laid off, and production of new clothing was on hold. A spokesperson for the former CEO said a sale of the company was on the horizon.
