Former Medtronic consultant sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for insider trading

A former Medtronic consultant received an 18-month prison sentence this week for his role in a scheme linked to the $1.6 billion acquisition of an Israeli medical device company in 2018.

A federal jury in February convicted Doron “Ron” Tavlin, 69, of Minneapolis, of one count of conspiracy to engage in insider trading and 10 additional counts related to securities fraud. That same jury found David Jay Gantman, 58, of Mendota Heights, not guilty of all charges against him. A third defendant — Afshin “Alex” Farahan, 57, of Los Angeles — pleaded guilty in 2022 and has yet to be sentenced.

“His crime was cynical and brazen. It was also reckless,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ebert wrote in a memo calling for a three-year prison term. “Tavlin’s conduct had the potential to blow up a deal that a team of executives and financial advisers had been diligently negotiating for months.”

Tavlin is now scheduled to self-surrender Jan. 5 to begin his prison term, which will be followed by 320 hours of community service.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Tavlin learned about a secret, pending acquisition by Medtronic of Mazor Robotics, where he worked as vice president of business development, in 2018. Tavlin also previously worked as a consultant to the Ireland-based Medtronic, which also has a headquarters in Fridley.

Tavlin illegally tipped off Farahan, his friend, about news of the imminent acquisition and told him to keep the news secret. Farahan knew the deal would likely result in a boost to Mazor’s stock price and quickly bought more than $1 million of the company’s stock throughout August and September 2018. Medtronic announced plans to acquire Mazor, which specialized in robotics for spinal procedures, in September 2018. The deal closed three months later.

Prosecutors said Farahan netted more than $245,000, and Gantman made $255,000 in profit by selling the securities quickly after the deal was publicized. Farahan paid Tavlin for the secret information about the pending deal — including a $25,000 kickback about a year later — according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank, who sentenced Tavlin on Monday, also ordered Tavlin to pay a special assessment fee of $1,100 — or $100 for each count. Frank did not impose a fine.

The criminal case was the product of an FBI investigation. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission in 2022 also sued the three men and asked the court to compel them to “disgorge all funds received from their illegal conduct” with interest and be subject to civil penalties.

According to court records, Tavlin lived off $200,000 in annual withdrawals from a trust fund maintained by Bernie Madoff while unemployed for more than a decade. When Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was exposed in 2008, Tavlin became subject to bankruptcy litigation resulting in a judgment of more than $700,000 against him.

Tavlin pivoted to business consultancy in 2011, and befriended a Medtronic executive. Tavlin since admitted to embellishing his resume, including fabricating his educational background.

Ebert wrote that, before sentencing, Tavlin reported about $1.2 million in assets.

“For years, Tavlin made a decent living and earned far more money than most other Americans,” Ebert wrote. “To be clear: he committed these securities crimes out of greed, and not in response to economic hardship.”

Matthew Forsgren, an attorney for Tavlin, argued for a period of home confinement and community service. In his own memo to Frank before sentencing, Forsgren wrote that Tavlin “asks for no pity. He recognizes and respects that the jury’s verdict means that his destruction will be regarded as self-destruction.”

Forsgren wrote that Tavlin is again out of work “with no prospect of employment,” an existing $753,000 judgment from the Madoff litigation, and failing health.

“He has lost much,” Forsgren wrote.