Litigation Releases (Jamal (“Jimmy”) Chammout; Ali El Siblani; Ali Jawad; Rabih Rakha)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26589 / July 17, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jamal Chammout, et al., Civil Action No. 2:26-cv-12451 (E.D. Mich. filed July 17, 2026)

SEC Charges Former Director of Public Company and Three Friends in Connection with Alleged Insider Trading

On July 17, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Ali El Siblani, a former senior executive and director of Desktop Metal, Inc., a then-publicly traded company, and three of El Siblani's friends, Jamal ("Jimmy") Chammout, Ali Jawad, and Rabih Rakha, all of Michigan, alleging that El Siblani's friends unlawfully traded based on material nonpublic information in advance of an August 11, 2021 announcement that Desktop Metal would acquire The ExOne Company at a premium to the market price. El Siblani, Jawad, and Rakha have agreed to settle the SEC's charges against them.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, alleges that from at least June through August 2021, Desktop Metal entrusted El Siblani with highly sensitive information about its proposed acquisition of ExOne, including the significant premium the company planned to pay ExOne shareholders. According to the complaint, rather than keeping this material non-public information to himself-as required under Desktop Metal's internal policies-El Siblani breached his fiduciary duty to Desktop Metal and its shareholders by tipping his close friends Chammout, Jawad, and Rakha before the acquisition was publicly announced. The SEC's complaint alleges that shortly after communicating with El Siblani, each of the tippees simultaneously started building substantial positions in ExOne securities and kept buying stock right up until the announcement. After the acquisition was publicly announced, the tippees are alleged to have quickly sold off their ExOne positions and obtained illicit profits in the amounts of: $218,036 for Chammout, $218,082 for Jawad, and $61,006 for Rakha.

The SEC's complaint charges El Siblani, Chammout, Jawad, and Rakha with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The SEC's complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief and civil penalties against all defendants, disgorgement with prejudgment interest against Chammout, Jawad, and Rakha, and an order barring El Siblani from service as an officer or director of a public company.

Without admitting the allegations in the SEC's complaint, El Siblani, Jawad, and Rakha have agreed to the entry of final judgments, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin them from violating Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, order El Siblani to pay a civil penalty of $497,124, and prohibit him for four years following entry of the judgment from serving as an officer or director of a public company, order Jawad to pay disgorgement of $218,082, prejudgment interest of $72,364, and a civil penalty of $218,082, and order Rakha to pay disgorgement of $61,006, prejudgment interest of $20,243, and a civil penalty of $61,006.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Taryn Lewis and Nicolas Magena and supervised by Brian Fagel of the SEC's Chicago Regional Office. The SEC's litigation will be led by Timothy Leiman and Jonathan Polish and supervised by Eric Phillips, also of the Chicago Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).