Why A Former Netflix Employee Was Sentenced To Prison

Seattle prosecutors stated that a former engineer at Netflix and his peer were sentenced to prison Friday following an insider-trading scheme that brought in over $3 million.

The former software engineer, Sung Mo Jun, 49, was sentenced to two years in prison. His friend Junwoo Chon, 50, was sentenced to one year and two months in prison. They both pleaded guilty in August.

“Insider trading is a serious offense,” attorney Nick Brown said. “Such conduct damages our financial markets and erodes public trust because the investing public needs to have faith that the markets provide an even playing field to all participants. Mr. Jun and Mr. Chon were both financially secure with good jobs and good salaries when greed drove them to break the law to increase their own wealth, at the expense of others. Such conduct, will not be tolerated.”

The insider trading scheme relied on subscriber data, NBC News reports. Following his departure from Netflix, Jun obtained subscriber information from current employee Ayden Lee. Lee has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced next year.

According to The United States Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Washington, Jun is relinquishing $495,188 to the U.S. while Chon is relinquishing $1,582,885.

“What I did was foolish, wrong, illegal" Jun said in court. "I have no excuse. I disappointed many people.”