Follow on Twitter
Supreme Court Takes on Insider Trading “Personal Benefit” After All
Just when the Supreme Court appeared to be turning its collective attention away from the standard for insider trading convictions by denying the writ for certiorari in United States v. Newman, the Court today granted cert. in Salman v. United States, which addresses the “personal… Read More
Supreme Court Denies Review of Second Circuit’s Newman Insider Trading Decision
We’ve taken a summer (early fall?) recess here at White Collar Alert but have been jolted back into the blogosphere with the news of the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in United States v. Newman. We’ve written and blogged repeatedly (and here, too) about the… Read More
U.S. Government Appeals Landmark Insider Trading Decision to the Supreme Court
This guest post was authored by our colleague Rimma Tsvasman, an associate in the firm’s Litigation Department in New York. Rimma concentrates her practice on corporate and securities transactions, investment management and commercial litigation. She can be reached at rtsvasman@mmwr.com or 212-867-9500. In a highly anticipated move following a… Read More
Former Oriole Swinging for the Fences in Insider Trading Prosecution
The fallout from the Second Circuit’s decision in United States v. Newman continues and threatens to affect not just future enforcement actions, but pending prosecutions. As we have noted before, the Second Circuit in Newman required that a trader / tippee know that an insider… Read More
UPDATE: Second Circuit Reverses “Downstream Tippee” Convictions
This guest post was authored by our colleague Mark B. Sheppard, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department. Mark focuses his practice on white collar criminal defense, SEC Enforcement and complex commercial civil litigation. He can be reached at msheppard@mmwr.com or 215.772.7235. As we predicted… Read More
Insider Trading Probe a Bogey for Mickelson?
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported that federal authorities are investigating investor Carl Icahn, gambler William Walters and golf champion Phil Mickelson for insider trading. Investigators are examining a series of successful trades by Walters and Mickelson of shares of… Read More
Government Swimming Upstream at Second Circuit Oral Argument on Downstream Insider Trading Liability
The Justice Department has been bullish over its rigorous enforcement of insider training over the past year, but on Tuesday a Second Circuit panel raised questions regarding the government’s theory of liability that led to the conviction of two “downstream” traders. Before the court was… Read More
Bharara’s Fire Dies Out: Cohen Remains Uncharged And Turns His Losses Into Gains
As the chapter closes on the decade-long insider trading investigation of SAC Capital Advisors, our question has finally been answered—at least for now: billionaire hedge fund guru Steven A. Cohen has dodged criminal charges for his role in managing the company now convicted of systemic… Read More
Bharara’s Infernal Region Expanded By One: Martoma Convicted
For those of us following the prosecutions of SAC Capital Advisors LP, today marked another milestone in U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s quest against insider-trading. Mathew Martoma, ex-SAC fund manager and pharmaceutical-industry analyst, was found guilty this afternoon of one count of conspiracy and two counts… Read More
The Blame Game: Who Should be Indicted – the Company or the Individual?
Just how wide is the net being cast upon SAC by federal authorities? Last week, I posted about the unprecedented plea agreement worked out between prosecutors and SAC Capital Advisors, L.P. in what could be described as the most rampant insider trading scheme ever charged.… Read More