Brian Thompson: Who is UnitedHealthcare CEO shot dead in New York?

Mr Thompson had been facing insider trading allegations.

A class-action lawsuit filed by a pension fund in May 2024 alleged that Mr Thompson sold $15m of his UnitedHealth Group shares when he knew that the company was under investigation by the US Department of Justice.

Officials were looking into whether the company violated US antitrust law, according to an investigation made public by a report in the Wall Street Journal in February.

The BBC has contacted UnitedHealth Group – the parent company of UnitedHealthcare – for comment.

UnitedHealth is a huge company with interests in insurance, health care providers, pharmacy services and health data. In 2023 it had more than $371bn in revenues.

According to court documents, the company has purchased more than 35 healthcare companies over the last 10 years. Justice department investigators have been looking into whether it used its market power to reduce competition, hurting customers and employees.

The Wall Street Journal reported that officials interviewed healthcare industry representatives, and were asking questions about “possible effects of the company’s doctor-group acquisitions on rivals and consumers”.

The City of Hollywood Firefighters’ Pension Fund initiated a complaint against Mr Thompson and other executives, accusing them of failing to tell investors about the investigation before selling a total of more than $117m in company stock.

As long-term investors who buy large amounts of stock, pension funds often take action on behalf of shareholders, and proposed a class-action lawsuit against UnitedHealth.

The lawsuit remains active.