-
Three More WorldCom Underwriters Bite the Dust
Add three more deep-pocketed underwriters to the list (see earlier post here) who have settled WorldCom bond investor claims that they failed to conduct adequate due diligence about the company. Deutsche Bank will be paying the largest amount in this group — $325 million — while West LB settles for $75 million and Caboto for…
-
Getting the SEC on Your Side
The My Shingle blog (Carolyn Elefant) has an interesting post (here) highlighting an article in the Seattle Times (here) about how a former SEC attorney, Peter Romeo of Hogan & Hartson, was able to persuade the SEC to file an amicus brief on behalf of a selling shareholder accused of violating Section 16 (the short-swing…
-
More Indictments in FBI Undercover Operation in Monmouth County, NJ
As discussed in a previous post (here) about a number of arrests of public officials in Monmouth County, New Jersey, charges against three additional defendants for money laundering were filed on March 10 as part of a widening crackdown on public corruption resulting from an extensive undercover FBI operation. A press release issued by the…
-
If You Can’t Trust a Poll
Everyone reads reports about surveys and political polls as if they were gospel, but what if the pollster is taking liberties with the data? An indictment returned in the District of Connecticut presents that very scenario involving DataUSA Inc . (now called ViewPointUSA Inc.), which has been charged along with its owner (Tracy Costin) and…
-
WorldCom Bond Underwriters Scorecard
The Securities Litigation Watch blog has a very handy scorecard (here) of the settlements by investment banks that served as underwriters for WorldCom’s various bond issues while it engaged in accounting fraud. The total paid in the settlements so far is $3.564 billion, with Citigroup contributing the largest amount to date ($2.58 billion). The latest…
-
Insider Trading on the Floor of the NYSE
The SEC and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) have filed civil and criminal insider trading charges against Frank Furino, who was employed as a clerk for one of the floor brokers at the New York Stock Exchange. The floor brokers are responsible for maintaining an orderly market in the…
-
Pizza For Lunch
The jury in the Bernie Ebbers prosecution may be near a verdict, although they also asked the court to order out for Dominos pizza for lunch today because they’re tired of the food from the cafeteria — no great surprise there for those who have spent more than a day in most federal courthouses. The…
-
More Indictments from ImClone
It looks like the government has not stopped with Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic when it comes to indictments related to ImClone. CNN reports here how two individuals have been indicted on securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud for allegedly selling some ImClone stock after receiving a tip from Waksal. The criminal complaint…
-
Downward Departures After Booker
A Sixth Circuit opinion on March 8 (U.S. v. Hamm) discusses the issue of downward departures after the invalidation of the Sentencing Guidelines in Booker. The defendant, convicted of trying to meet with a fourteen year old "girl" he met through an internet chat room, sought a downward departure on the grounds of diminished capacity,…
-
Are We There Yet?
The jury in the Bernie Ebbers trial continued through a third day a deliberations by, among other things, reviewing a video of Ebbers at a 2000 investment conference, excerpts of his cross-examination, and testimony from two other government witnesses who entered guilty pleas, former accounting executives Betty Vinson and Troy Normand. It will be interesting…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
MattBray.net 