Updated

A former pharmaceutical executive has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in an insider trading scheme.

John Lazorchak was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Newark, N.J.

Lazorchak was director of financial reporting at Celgene Corp. when he was arrested in November 2012 along with five other people. One of the others was Mark Cupo, an executive at French drugmaker Sanofi Aventis' U.S. headquarters in Bridgewater, N.J.

All six defendants have pleaded guilty. Lazorchak pleaded guilty in the fall to conspiracy and five counts of securities fraud.

The U.S. attorney's office contends the men used inside information to exploit deals involving the two pharmaceutical firms and other companies.