A prominent Manhattan hairstylist busted for insider trading pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Abell Oujaddou, who has styled the locks of such luminaries as Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet and Robert De Niro, admitted in Manhattan federal court to acting on a tip from a Standard & Poor’s analyst to score nearly $200,000 in illicit trading profits.
The analyst, Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz, had been working on a Rating Evaluation Service, in advance of Sherwin-Williams’ contemplated but unannounced acquisition of paint maker Valspar.
Pinto-Thomaz allegedly passed on private information about the acquisition to Oujaddou — a family friend and the co-owner of the Marie Robinson Salon in the Flatiron District — who in turn purchased 8,630 shares of Valspar stock leading up to the deal.
On the first trading day after the acquisition became public, Valspar shares spiked 23 percent.
Oujaddou, 55, sold his shares after the announcement and gave Pinto-Thomaz a cut of the profits.
Pinto-Thomaz and a third defendant who also got tipped by the analyst pleaded not guilty and will fight the charges.
Oujaddou faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.