Insider trading happens when someone buys or sells securities on the basis of such a company secured or confidential information, which might be unknown to the general public and, consequently, give a trading advantage to those who have such trading tips or pieces of information. It violates Section 10 (b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, which is a prohibition of deceptive conduct in relation to securities transactions (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2001). In fact, insider trading is destroying the integrity of the markets, destroying investor confidence, and building up uneven playfields. A recent SEC case illustrates this violation. In the year 2022 case, the SEC consisted of Amit Bhardwaj - the former Securities Information Systems Manager at Lumentum Holdings Inc., and his friends for insider trading (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2022). Bhardwaj learned material non-public information concerning Lumentum acquisitions which made him privy to the upcoming MA deals with Coherent, Inc. and NeoPhotonics Corporation. He purchased Coherent securities himself ahead of the acquisition announcement and tipped his friend Dhirenkumar Patel, who traded on the tip. Later, Bhardwaj shared the NeoPhotonics acquisition information with friends Srinivasa Kakkera, Abbas Saeedi, and Ramesh Chitor, who then traded NeoPhotonics stock. In committing this illegal trading - Bhardwaj together with his friends prioritized personal financial gain over ethical principles like trust, fairness and market integrity (Nichol et al., 2021). Their deceptive actions harmed other investors who did not have access to the inside information. To settle the charges, Bhardwaj agreed to pay over $2.7 million in disgorgement, interest, and penalties. He was also barred from maintaining brokerage accounts for five years. Federal prosecutors filed parallel criminal charges. I don't believe the penalties against Bhardwaj and his associates represent a fully just resolution for their insider trading violations. Insider trading erodes public trust in market fairness, so a stronger deterrent involving permanent bars from public company roles or criminal prosecution may have been more appropriate. While fines aim to punish their ethical breach of exploiting privileged information for profit over everyday investors, harsher consequences upholding ethical norms and market integrity should be considered for such fundamental abuses. Ultimately, preventing this temptation requires a collective commitment to compliance over personal greed