A former executive with the Generic Pharmaceutical Association used his role within the organization to obtain confidential information that he then passed on as part of an insider trading scheme, federal officials charged.

Former GPhA Vice President of Regulatory Sciences Gordon Johnston pled guilty to taking part in the scheme and is now cooperating with government officials, the U.S. Department of Justice announced June 15. He is alleged to have passed confidential information about upcoming U.S. Food and Drug Administration decisions to approve generic drug applications to hedge fund manager Sanjay Valvani, who was found dead Monday at his New York City home in an apparent suicide.

Johnston worked at GPhA from 2003 to 2011 and stayed on as a consultant for a few years after he resigned. He was the association's primary connection to FDA, having previously worked as the agency's deputy director of the Office of Generic Drugs. As one of the association's top executives, he earned more than $572,000 in compensation his final year there, according to tax records.

The Justice Department and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allege Johnston used a contact within FDA to find out about upcoming drug approvals then passed that information along to Valvani, who then used it to make millions of dollars in profits through investments. The official in question thought he was giving the information to Johnston in confidence as a representative of the association. SEC also alleges Johnston used his position with GPhA to obtain information about its members and pass it along to Valvani.

GPhA was not accused of any wrongdoing.

Charges had been pending against Valvani, but he claimed innocence in a suicide note found near his body, the Associated Press reported, citing authorities with knowledge of the investigation. http://bit.ly/28R571W

The Justice Department has also brought charges against two other people allegedly involved in the scheme, both portfolio managers who worked with Valvani. Christopher Plaford has pled guilty and his working with government officials while Stefan Lumiere surrendered to authorities last week, the agency said. http://1.usa.gov/28PfHI7

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