49ers CEO and Leeds United co-owner Jed York sued for alleged insider trading in United States

York is alleged to have made in excess of $1 million from the sale of shares before a cheating scandal surrounding student examinations made news in the United States.

Investors have brought two lawsuits against York and fellow high-ranking Chegg board members.

As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, “the lawsuits also accuse York, along with Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig and several other company executives, of illegal insider trading for allegedly unloading Chegg stock at the top of the market without informing investors about the extent of the cheating scandal. York made $1.4 million in profit on the sale of 20,000 shares “at artificially inflated prices.”

Subsequent publicity surrounding Chegg’s role in the cheating activity led to the company’s share price tumbling.

49ers spokesperson Brian Brokaw is quoted to have said: “The 49ers are proud of the work we accomplished with Chegg to provide scholarships for first-generation students,” but made no reference to the allegations against York.

Four years ago, the 49ers partnered with Chegg to fund up to $100,000 in scholarships for first-generation college students from San Francisco’s Bay Area, according to the Chronicle.

York is the son of Denise DeBartolo York and John York, nephew of former 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. After graduating from university, York worked on Wall Street before being appointed Vice President of the 49ers. He currently holds the position of chief executive, and along with Paraag Marathe, is co-owner at Elland Road.

York is not understood to have a hands-on role at Leeds with chairman Marathe taking the lead on all matters this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Board members Rudy Cline-Thomas, Peter Lowy and Angus Kinnear were all in attendance along with Marathe at Leeds’ first game of the new season against Cardiff City last weekend.

"49ers Enterprises, led by Marathe and 49ers CEO Jed York, has steadily supported and increased its investment in Leeds United over the past five years. Moving forward, the group will look to enhance all aspects of the Club both on and off the pitch,” a club statement read last month as the consortium’s long-awaited takeover was completed.

“We strongly reject the claims made in securities-related lawsuits against Chegg, including specific allegations against our Board of Directors, which are wholly unfounded,” a Chegg spokesperson said.

"Chegg is actively and resolutely defending against these baseless claims in official court filings.

“Chegg takes academic integrity very seriously and has invested significant resources to protect it such as Honor Shield, a free academic integrity tool, to support educators. 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.”