Was UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson set to testify against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding insider trading before his death on December 4, 2024? The claim has been doing the rounds over the past two days and has gone viral since the arrest of suspected assassin Luigi Mangione on Monday.
No, that isn't true. There is no evidence linking Thompson's death to any insider trading claims involving Pelosi, nor has the former House Speaker been accused of such activities. However, in May 2024, Thompson was named in a lawsuit filed by the Hollywood Firefighters' Pension Fund, which alleged insider trading by UnitedHealth Group executives. Thompson was being investigated for it.
Strange Claim Linking Thompson and Pelosi
The weird claim started doing the rounds on December 7, a day before Mangione, the suspected killer was arrested for Thompson's murder. The claim was made in a post on Threads which read: "BREAKING: Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was set to testify against Nancy Pelosi for insider trading."
The post did not provide any evidence to back up the claim that Thompson was about to testify against Pelosi for insider trading before his death.
A Google News search for the phrase "Brian Thompson was about to testify against Nancy Pelosi for insider trading before he was killed" produced over a dozen results, none of which supported the claim.
The search did lead to a fact-check by a credible source that also debunked the claim.
Another Google News search using the terms "Nancy Pelosi" and "insider trading" found several articles, but none connected her to any investigation.
While some Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, have slammed Pelosi for her husband's stock trades, there was no evidence of any legal action related to her at the time of Thompson's death.
Thompson Faced Lawsuit
There is no evidence that Pelosi has been charged with insider trading. However, Thompson was mentioned in a 2024 lawsuit. Thompson faced allegations of insider trading and fraud before he was assassinated in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Last year, the DoJ launched an investigation into whether the UnitedHealthcare, under Thompson's leadership, was unfairly limiting competition and operating as a monopoly.
In May, the City of Hollywood Firefighters' Pension Fund filed a lawsuit against Thompson and other UnitedHealth executives, alleging that the CEO hid information about a federal investigation before selling over 31 percent of his shares, earning $15.1 million.
The complaint mentioned that Thompson and other company leaders sold more than $117 million worth of UnitedHealth stock over a four-month period while they were aware of the federal antitrust probe. However, the development has not yet been made public.
In October, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the largest public pension fund in the U.S., joined the lawsuit and filed an amended complaint seeking a jury trial against Thompson and other executives.
In February, The Wall Street Journal revealed that federal investigators had been interviewing individuals from the healthcare sector where UnitedHealth operates.
The inquiries focused on the relationships between UnitedHealthcare, the company's insurance division, and its Optum health services branch, which manages physician groups and other assets.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Department of Justice was investigating UnitedHealth's Medicare billing practices. The investigation aimed to determine whether physicians were exaggerating patient illnesses to improperly boost government payments.
However, there was no link to Pelosi in this investigation and subsequent lawsuit. The claim thus is completely false.
