A federal grand jury has indicted Casey Muggleston, an engineering manager at Constellation Energy, for allegedly orchestrating a $1.4 million insider trading scheme tied to the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear facility.
Federal prosecutors announced the charges following a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Muggleston, 44, faces one count of securities fraud and four counts of insider trading.
According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, Muggleston allegedly utilized his position as a License Renewal Engineering Manager to access confidential, material nonpublic information between May and September 2024. During this time, he allegedly received internal progress updates and sensitive communications about Constellation’s efforts to revive a nuclear reactor that had been offline since 2019.
Armed with this inside knowledge, Muggleston allegedly bypassed corporate policies and purchased hundreds of high-leverage call options in his personal brokerage account. Call options grant buyers the right to buy stock at a set price, maximizing potential returns if the stock price surges before expiration.
The indictment alleges that the gamble paid off on September 20, 2024, when Constellation publicly announced its 20-year agreement with Microsoft to restart the Three Mile Island Reactor In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, rebranded as the Crane Clean Energy Center.
As public markets reacted to the announcement, Constellation’s stock price skyrocketed. Muggleston allegedly liquidated 550 call option contracts, walking away with $1,480,380.67 in single-day profits, officials said.
Muggleston is charged with Securities Fraud: One count, carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and Insider Trading: Four counts, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace noted that a federal district court judge will determine the final sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines if a conviction is secured.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Corey J. Hauser and Bryan C. Williamson. Under U.S. law, Muggleston is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
