Brandon Charnas, Husband of Something Navy's Arielle Charnas, Not Cooperating with SEC Investigation into ‘Possible Insider Trading’

The real estate broker is under investigation for stock he bought in Office Depot’s parent company just weeks before Staples announced it wanted to acquire the company

Brandon Charnas, the husband of Something Navy founder Arielle Charnas, is not cooperating with the SEC in their investigation into his “possible insider trading violations,” per a Tuesday press release from the Commission.

The New York City-based real estate broker made stock trades just before Staples announced its bid to acquire Office Depot, per the SEC release.

The SEC alleged in their filing that Charnas bought stock in Office Depot's parent company ODP "a few weeks prior to the announcement, resulting in combined profits of at least $385,000."

The Commission stated that Charnas purchased stock options “surrounding communications with other traders in ODP” on Dec. 23, 2020. Staples made their announcement about wanting to acquire Office Depot on Jan. 11, 2021, per the SEC.

The agency is investigating whether traders were sharing insider information in the deal and initially issued Charnas a subpoena in November. The SEC’s Tuesday announcement added that it had filed an enforcement action because of his lack of cooperation in the investigation.

The SEC's report of Charnas' uncooperative behavior with their investigation came because he “improperly refused to comply with the Subpoena” under the protection of the Fifth Amendment, which the commission said does not apply in this situation.

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Charnas could not be reached by PEOPLE for comment and the real estate company he co-founded, Current Real Estate, also didn't immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, the SEC says it is “continuing its fact-finding investigation” and that they have “not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws.”

In December 2022, it was rumored that Charnas had embezzled funds from his wife Arielle’s lifestyle brand, Something Navy.

In a statement to E! News at the time, a spokesperson for the couple said, “There was absolutely no embezzlement. This is all part of a disgusting, coordinated smear campaign attempting to damage Arielle and Brandon's reputations and lives.”

According to E! News, embezzlement rumors surfaced on Reddit, when users began speculating that a publication was working on an exposé about Brandon and the company.

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Arielle, who shares daughters Ruby, 7, Esme, 5, and Navy, 2, with her husband, first launched Something Navy as a blog in 2009. The brand later developed into a successful clothing line with a valuation worth $100 million as of November 2021, according to Business Insider.

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