Three former minor league baseball players were sentenced Friday to time served in a federal court in San Diego for their roles in an insider trading scheme involving the planned acquisition of Del Taco by Jack in the Box. Jordan Joseph Qsar, 30, Austin Lane Bernard, 31, and Grant Lee Witherspoon, 29, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud.

According to prosecutors, the scheme began in October 2021 when Qsar received a confidential tip from a former Pepperdine University baseball teammate employed in Jack in the Box’s strategic finance department. The teammate informed Qsar that Jack in the Box was preparing to acquire Del Taco, a move that had not yet been made public. Instead of maintaining secrecy, Qsar passed the information along to Bernard and Witherspoon.

The three then purchased shares of Del Taco before Jack in the Box publicly announced its $575 million acquisition of the taco chain in December 2021. Following the announcement, Del Taco’s stock price surged by 66%, enabling the former baseball players to realize significant profits: Qsar earned approximately $56,000, Bernard about $64,600, and Witherspoon roughly $42,000.

Prosecutors further noted that the insider information did not stop with the initial trio. Bernard and Witherspoon distributed the tip to additional individuals, with a total of 19 people reportedly involved. Collectively, those connected to the scheme gained around $325,000 in illicit proceeds.

None of the defendants ever advanced to major league baseball. The court handed down sentences of time served, with no additional prison time imposed.