The Democratic New Jersey congresswoman seemed like a shoo-in to succeed Phil Murphy as her state’s governor, an office that trended blue in recent years. Yet she is now neck-and-neck with Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a successful businessman before entering politics. Her problem: disclosures that she spent some considerable time day-trading stocks while she was in office, possibly — if her critics are right — profiting off nonpublic information to make profitable trades. 

Rising public disgust over her alleged insider trading could cost her the Nov. 4 election. 

Yes, to hear critics tell it, Sherrill’s acumen at timing the market — buying and selling stock armed with nonpublic information during the COVID pandemic a few years back — puts her in league with some of the best insider traders in the business. 

Ivan Boesky watch out! 

The truth is that Sherrill’s stock trades might look bad, but they’re not illegal or unusual. In fact, they are in line with other lawmakers who have gotten caught in this ­periodic scandal, which amounts to allegations that they used their access to nonpublic information to profit on stock trades. 

More From Charles Gasparino

Based on my reporting, much of that information wasn’t even nonpublic, which is why no one ever went to jail over this stuff or has even been charged despite all the hoopla. Insider trading is notoriously difficult to prove because information is so fungible; warnings about the spread of COVID were all over the internet while Congress was being “privately” briefed in the matter. 

New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill tours the USS Battleship New Jersey as part of a campaign stop on October 11, 2025 in Camden, New Jersey. Getty Images

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A ‘something’ burger? 

Which makes this “scandal” seem like a nothing burger for Sherrill, right? 

Not quite. On the campaign trail, Sherrill has been oddly dissembling when asked for the details of the timing of her trades — particularly when the markets were freaking out over COVID back in 2020 — other than to point out she no longer trades stocks after being called out a few years ago. 

That’s why I did a deeper dive in the controversy by reviewing the timing of her trades, disclosed through various publicly available sources such as a website that tracks this stuff, known as “Quiver Quantitative.” 

I came across something odd: In April 2020, the New Jersey Globe ran a story stating that Sherrill and her husband “decided to convert to ETFs last December and instructed a financial adviser to begin the process during the first week of January, before receiving any briefings on COVID-19.” 

Odd, because her congressional disclosures show she bought lots of stocks in January 2020, the same month President Trump first downplayed the severity of the virus. Unless I’m missing something, she really didn’t start unloading shares until Feb. 20, 2020, when “Trump 1” began warning about COVID and the stock markets began crashing. 

Significant trading 

Another oddity; Sherrill was hardly a piker at trading stocks in 2019 and 2020 when she first got to Congress. True, she’s no Nancy Pelosi; Sherrill’s trading activity reached a high of around $2.4 million in 2020, dwarfed by the $39 million in trades for the former House speaker last year. 

Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey Jack Ciattarelli (L) and Democrat Mikie Sherrill (R) during a debate at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center on October 08, 2025. Leonardo Munoz

But what she did was not nothing. So the question remains: Why even go there when you have so much else on your plate? 

Sherrill and her husband, Jason Hedberg, are hardly the fattest cats in government, though they are comfortably well off. Disclosure forms show they’re worth as much as $14 million. They own homes and property. 

Hedberg, whom she met at the Naval Academy, is a Wall Street banker who pulls in an estimated $3 million a year. (It was his late filing of stock trades that led to a small disclosure fine for Sherrill back in 2021. Through a rep he declined to comment.) 

Sherrill herself is no slouch; she was a helicopter pilot in the Navy, went on to become an accomplished private attorney at the firm Kirkland & Ellis before working as an assistant US attorney and then entering Congress. 

A spokesman for Sherrill’s campaign says “Mikie does not own or trade individual stocks, and has gone ‘above and beyond’ releasing the exact values of her finances to the dollar and while New Jerseyans have zero insight into Jack Ciattarelli’s net worth.” 

Again, she certainly isn’t the worst — or the first — lawmaker to be caught flat-footed trying to explain weirdness involving stock trading and whether they used the perks of their office to make money. 

Yet she does provide a cautionary tale; if you enter Congress, try focusing your time on working for the people back home and not being a day-trader. Put your dough in a simple mutual fund like the one that tracks the S&P 500. It’s been up around 168% since 2019, and it won’t cost you an election.

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Eurojust, a criminal investigation agency for European countries, used judicial cooperation with Cyprus to help with the investigation, as it was found that site managers resided in the country. During the investigation, law enforcement uncovered that more than €100 million was transferred between 2022 and 2025.

During its investigation, those involved met to coordinate searches across Cyprus and Malta. This resulted in two men being brought before the investigative judge in France, who have been charged. The charges include:

• Organising prohibited gambling
• Operating as part of an organised gang
• Offering illegal online gaming
• Money laundering

Eurojust orders assets frozen for gambling ring pair

While they’ve been charged, they are now awaiting trial and are in custody. The pair has had their assets ordered to be frozen. However, neither Eurojust nor any of the European authorities involved in the case have named the gambling sites in question.

France and a good majority of Europe allow for gambling, but have strict regulations in place to keep it in check. As such, as soon as an operator falls afoul of the law, investigators will typically act quickly to get to the bottom of it.

As we don’t know the sites in question, it’s always worth double-checking to see whether or not an online casino is licensed. Don’t fall for sites that use false licenses, but make sure to check in with the advertised licensor to see if they’re legit. Some watchdogs will have a dedicated list, like in Malta or the UK.

Featured image: Eurojust

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Council President Anand Shah has been indicted on 18 charges related to allegedly participating in an illegal gambling ring, including several counts of money laundering and racketeering in the first degree and second degree charges of official misconduct, extortion, and third-degree tampering with public records. Readwrite has contacted the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office to confirm whether the indictment charges are correct.

Shah is about to end his third term as a Democrat councilman, while currently seeking support for another three-year council term ahead of the general election on November 4. According to his attorney, Michael DeMarco, Shah intends to defend his innocence.

Diagram released by investigators showing the hierarchy of suspects in an organized crime and illegal gambling ring tied to a New York councilman indicted on 18 charges. Credit: New Jersey Attorney General’s Office

The councilman is scheduled to appear in front of state Superior Court Judge Ralph Amirata in Morristown on October 24 for his post-indictment arraignment, where he is expected to formally enter his plea. After being arrested back in April, Shah was held at the Morris County jail for seven weeks before being granted release by a judge.

The councilman’s alleged involvement in the illegal gambling ring

The alleged illegal gambling ring is said to have hosted unlicensed poker games and used an overseas sportsbook to place unlicensed sports bets. These activities are alleged to have brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars, laundered through shell companies.

Allegations have been brought against 42 defendants, including Shah and members of the Lucchese crime family. A 78-page indictment document outlines the complete charges against all the co-defendants.

Today we’ve charged 39 people, including a sitting councilman. The message is clear – we are bringing every resource to bear to crack down on violent criminals, including organized crime.

If you break the law, if you hurt New Jersey, you will be brought to justice. pic.twitter.com/AgjjlEOQgY

— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) April 11, 2025

In terms of what punishment Shah could face if found guilty, the second-degree misconduct charge along could result in a 10-year prison sentence, while others could lead to substantial fines.

Other allegations levelled against Shah in the document include: claiming that the councilman “threatened to inflict bodily injury” on “multiple victims” owed money from the gambling activities; allegedly falsifying a financial disclosure statement; and not paying gross income taxes, a third-degree crime, for six straight years between April 2019 and 2025.

In July, Shah wrote on Facebook that he had been released from Morris County Jail on May 30, following his detention since April 9, 2025. His Attorney Michael P. DeMarco, Esq. said in a statement at the time: “Mr. Shah is deeply grateful for the Appellate Division’s decision and eagerly anticipates his day in court, where he will vigorously defend against the State’s charges and clear his previously unblemished name and reputation.”

Featured image: Anand Shah via Facebook

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August 18, 2025, 3:58pm

Sally Rooney, the bestselling Irish novelist, has vowed to support Palestine Action despite the group being proscribed as a terrorist organization in the UK.

In a piece published by the Irish Times on Saturday, Rooney (who has been one of the literary world’s most vocal pro-Palestinian voices) reiterated her support and admiration for the direct action movement and condemned the August 9th arrest of more than 500 peaceful protesters on suspicion of terror offenses:

These protesters were not engaged in any violent acts, nor were they promoting any violence against any living creatures at all. And yet they may now face life-altering terror charges, some of which could result in up to 14 years in prison. Why? Because, with a full understanding of the consequences, these brave individuals chose to express support for the protest group Palestine Action.

Since its foundation in 2020, Palestine Action has primarily organised direct-action protests against weapons manufacturers: defacing buildings, breaking windows and occupying factories. This summer, as the UK continued to offer material and diplomatic support for the ongoing genocide in Gaza, activists broke into an RAF airbase and used spray-paint to vandalise two aircraft. The Government responded by proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, placing the group on the same legal footing as al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The group’s cofounder, Huda Ammori, is now rightly fighting this designation in the courts, but in the meantime, any expression of support for Palestine Action, even a simple placard or T-shirt, constitutes a serious terror offence under UK law.

The decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, followed by the mass arrest of anyone who holds up a sign or wears a t-shirt supporting the group, has been met with widespread condemnation and ridicule in the UK. Half of those arrested (under section 13 of the Terrorism Act) at the August 9th mass sit-down demonstration in London were retirement-age peace activists. One of Britain’s most acclaimed poets, former Oxford Chair of Poetry Alice Oswald, was arrested for holding up a small handmade sign, and a Brighton engineer was taken into custody for wearing a t-shirt that read ‘Plasticine Action: We Oppose AI Generated Animation.’

Over the past 22 months, many authors have put their careers on the line to speak out against the Gaza genocide, but Rooney has decided to go a step further. Like Oswald, she is now risking her freedom by openly pledging her support for Palestine Action (support for a proscribed organization is illegal in the UK and can carry a potential penalty of up to 14 years in prison). In a move that has prompted a warning from the Prime Minister’s office, the Normal People author declared that she will use the proceeds from her novels, as well as the residuals from their television adaptations, to fund Palestine Action and other direct action groups:

In this context I feel obliged to state once more that—like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend—I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a “supporter of terror” under UK law, so be it. My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets. In recent years the UK’s state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees. I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can. If the British state considers this “terrorism”, then perhaps it should investigate the shady organizations that continue to promote my work and fund my activities, such as WH Smith and the BBC.

As reported by the Guardian earlier today, a legal expert has warned that Rooney could now face arrest and prosecution:

Lawyer and writer Sadakat Kadri said: “Receiving money with the intention of using it to support terrorism is an offence under section 15 of the 2000 act. That means Rooney could be arrested without a warrant as a ‘terrorist.’”

He added that “the absurdities don’t end there,” and said the decision of the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, to bracket Palestine Action with groups such as Islamic State meant the BBC would also be criminally liable if it continued to pay royalties to Rooney in view of her stated intentions.

“Authoritarian governments routinely threaten writers and intimidate broadcasters, but I find it quite extraordinary that Labour under Keir Starmer has now chosen to go down the same path.”

Asked whether Rooney could face legal repercussions if she, for example, spoke at a book festival in the UK, Kadri said that “there’s certainly a risk she’d fall foul” of the law. If Rooney expressed “her views in terms of condemning the war crimes being committed in Gaza, an arguable case for prosecution could be made out.”

“Saying that isn’t for one moment an attempt to justify the statute,” said Kadri, which he described as “a shameful attack” on free speech. “It’s just a particularly stark illustration of the measure’s gross disproportionality.”

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