San Francisco 49ers CEO and Leeds co-owner Jed York is sued for insider trading ‘after selling $1.4million of shares in an education website as a company board member while concealing looming cheating scandal’

Jed York, the San Francisco 49ers CEO and member of the Leeds United ownership group, is facing two insider trading lawsuits over his involvement in a California-based educational website that is accused of helping students cheat on exams.

In two shareholders’ lawsuits obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, York and other Chegg Inc. executives are accused of hiding the website’s role in helping students cheat during online exams.

Company revenue reportedly spiked during the pandemic because students were able to quickly obtain answers from Chegg during online exams, according to the lawsuits. Then, when the pandemic ended and college students returned to the classroom, Chegg profits quickly plummeted.

York and the Chegg board are accused of ‘gross mismanagement’ and ‘unjust enrichment’ in the civil lawsuits. There are further claims that the 49ers executive, Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig, and other top officials unloaded company stock at the top of the market without telling investors about the looming cheating scandal.

The 43-year-old York allegedly made $1.4 million by selling 20,000 Chegg Inc. shares ‘at artificially inflated prices,’ according to the lawsuit.

Forty-Niners spokesman Brian Brokaw responded to the lawsuits in a statement that neglected to mention the pending legal actions: ‘The 49ers are proud of the work we accomplished with Chegg to provide scholarships for first-generation students.’

A spokesperson for Chegg gave a lengthier response to the Chronicle.  

‘The recent securities-related lawsuits against Chegg, and in certain cases (its) board of directors, are without merit and Chegg is vigorously defending itself,’ a Chegg spokesperson wrote in an email. ‘Chegg takes academic integrity very seriously and has invested significant resources to protect it. Chegg has been helping millions of students learn and thrive for many years, including during the pandemic, creating a transformative digital learning platform to improve outcomes.’