ATLANTA — More fallout is coming from the massive data breach at Georgia-based Equifax. Now, investigators want to know if Equifax officials took advantage of insider information to sell shares they owned of the company’s stock before the news of the breach became public.

The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation related to insider trading, according to a report by Bloomberg and the Financial Times. The investigation will involved Equifax CEO John Gamble, US Information Solutions head Joseph Loughran, and company workforce solutions chief Rodolfo Ploder.  Bloomberg did not name the source of this information on the grounds of confidentiality.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle quotes John Horn, the acting chief prosecutor in the Justice Department’s Atlanta office as saying, “The US attorney for the northern district of Georgia is working with the FBI to conduct a criminal investigation into the Equifax breach and resulting theft of personal information.”

Earlier reports stated Equifax executives sold off more than $1.8 million in stock prior to the release of information related to the data breach to the public.  The breach affects as many as 143 million US citizens.

Two Equifax executives have already resigned as part of the breach fall out. David Webb, Chief Information Officer, and Susan Mauldin, Chief Security Officer, both announced they were retiring as a result of the breach.