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White Collar

By Patrick Clark 10/25/12 6:05pm

White Collar

Mr. Gupta. (World Economic Forum/Michael Wuertenberg)

One Day After Gupta Gets Two Years, Expert Consultant Cops Year-long Bid for Insider Trading

One day after corporate chieftain Rajat Gupta was sentenced to two years in prison after his conviction on insider trading charges, a different judge sentenced a former AT&T employee who pleaded guilty to sharing privileged information with investors to one year’s jail time.

Alnoor Ebrahim, who pleaded guilty in June to sharing sales information for AT&T handset devices, including the iPhone and Blackberry. Mr. Ebrahim, who was sentenced by Judge Paul J. Oetken, was paid more than $180,000 for his work with expert network Primary Global Research, which consisted of hundreds of calls with the firm’s clients. Read More

By Patrick Clark 10/24/12 5:13pm

White Collar

World Economic Forum/Michael Wuertenberg

Former McKinsey & Co. CEO Rajat Gupta Gets Two Years Prison Time for Insider Trading

Rajat Gupta, the former chief executive officer of McKinsey & Co., was sentenced to two years imprisonment for insider trading this afternoon during a hearing presided over by Judge Jed Rakoff at the U.S. Southern District courthouse.

Mr. Gupta, who was convicted in May of using his position on the board of directors at Goldman Sachs to pass privileged information to Galleon Group hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, has sought probation in lieu of imprisonment. The government recommended a jail term of eight to 10 years.

“With today’s sentence, Rajat Gupta now must face the grave consequences of his crime,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in an emailed statement. “His conduct has forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate. We hope that others who might consider breaking the securities laws will take heed from this sad occasion and choose not to follow in Mr. Gupta’s footsteps.” Read More

By Patrick Clark 10/22/12 5:25pm

White Collar

Secretary Stole Millions From Salomon Brothers Icon With the Swipe of a Pen

An interesting thing about fraud is that it’s not a difficult thing to do, at least mechanically: Once a would-be crook decides to make his move, ill-getting gains can be as simple as a color printer, scanner and a fake P.O. Box, a made-up case of malaria or some opportunistic penmanship. Take the latter example.

Federal prosecutors charged a former secretary with stealing nearly $2 million from veteran banker William Salomon Jr., The New York Times reported on Friday. Mr. Salomon, 98, served as senior managing partner at Salomon Brothers in the 1960s and ’70s, according to The Times, and presided over the firm’s transformation into a bond-trading powerhouse. Mr. Salomon, keeps an office at Citigroup, the successor to the firm founded by his father, and it was there that his longtime assistant, Karen R. Febles, apparently executed her scheme: Read More

By Patrick Clark 10/16/12 6:34pm

White Collar

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German Banker Two-Timed Women, Cheated Market With Insider Trading Scheme

At least he didn’t play favorites. Former Mizuho International investment banker Thomas Ammann tipped both of his two girlfriends to privileged information regarding Dutch photocopier maker Oce, British prosecutors said.

Mr. Ammann, a German banker living in London, shared information regarding an impending deal with Canon with his two girlfriends—Christina Weckwerth, a divorcee he met Read More

By Patrick Clark 10/08/12 2:54pm

White Collar

sleeping-jury

Seeking 12 New Yorkers to Hear Mind-Numbingly Tedious Tale of Securities Fraud

The notion that the complexity of securities law makes white collar cases difficult for prosecutors to win is pretty broadly accepted these day—indeed, to the extent that the jury that acquitted former Citigroup executive Brian Stoker of civil charges this summer urged the Securities and Exchange Commission not to be discouraged by the verdict.

Well, there’s moral complexity (who’s ultimately responsible?), there’s procedural complexity (how do you explain financial concepts to a jury?) and then there’s the somnial complexity, the daunting task of keeping a jury awake. Read More

By Patrick Clark 10/01/12 7:37pm

White Collar

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Madoff Fraud Dated Back to 1970s, U.S. Says in New Indictment

Prosecutors filed new charges against five employees of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities in documents filed today, alleging that the conspiracy to defraud investors in the firm dated to at least the early 1970s, and adding charges relating to corporate and personal loans and new tax offenses.

The superseding indictment adds new charges against Daniel Bonventre, who worked for Mr. Madoff for 40 years, eventually rising to the position of director of operations, as well as Annette Bongiorno and Joann Crupi, and brings charges against BLMIS computer programmers Jerome O’Hara and George Perez for the first time. Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/26/12 4:47pm

White Collar

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Is There No Place Safe? Ex-Credit Suisse Banker Arrested in London

A former Credit Suisse banker was arrested in London today, according to The Wall Street Journal nearly six months after being indicted by U.S. prosecutors for allegedly faking data to boost end-of-year bonuses.

In February, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara charged Kareem Serageldin, a former global head of the Swiss bank’s collateralized debt obligation business, with masterminding a scheme to mismark positions in asset-backed securities, helping Mr. Serageldin and his traders meet targets linked to annual bonuses. Read More