Securities Law

GC Fired As Company Probes Backdating

Another backdating probe, another general counsel gets the boot. But in the case of Matthew Gloss, dismissed as general counsel of Marvell Semiconductor Inc., it’s not clear if his firing was because of backdating, according to the Recorder. A press release noting the departure of Gloss and others at the…

May 8, 2007 12:14 PM CDT

Lawyer Couple Reaches Plea Deal

A lawyer couple accused of insider trading have reached an agreement to plead guilty. A prosecutor discloses in a letter to a Manhattan federal judge that Randi and Christopher Collotta will enter guilty pleas on Thursday, according to the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). The newspaper did not have specifics…

May 7, 2007 8:24 PM CDT

SEC Targets Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its probes into insider trading as it examines links between brokerages and hedge funds.

May 7, 2007 3:22 PM CDT

Subpoenas Issued in WSJ Trading Probe

The Wall Street Journal has been subpoenaed in an investigation into suspicious trading in its stock in advance of a $5 billion buyout offer. The company that made the offer, News Corp., also received a subpoena in the investigation by the New York attorney general’s office and the Securities and…

May 7, 2007 3:12 PM CDT

Scammers Combine Stock, Computer Crimes

A fraud that targets computer users at hotels and Internet cafes has netted scammers tens of millions of dollars, according to FBI officials. The scammers use keystroke logging programs on hotel and Internet computers to steal passwords to brokerage accounts, according to Bloomberg News. Money in the accounts is used…

May 4, 2007 4:56 PM CDT

Judge’s Comment Helps Milberg Weiss Defense

A dismissal motion filed last week by a former partner with Milberg Weiss & Bershad picks up on concerns raised by a trial judge. Steven Schulman argues for dismissal of charges that he paid kickbacks to class-action clients because no one involved in the suits suffered any harm. Schulman has…

May 4, 2007 4:26 PM CDT

KPMG Germany Rapped in Siemens Probe

A New York law firm overseeing a probe into corruption at Siemens AG says its auditor didn’t do enough to alert the board to suspicious activity. Debevoise & Plimpton has concluded auditor KPMG Germany should have been more aggressive in pursuing signs of wrongdoing, a source told the Wall Street…

May 4, 2007 3:42 PM CDT

Dutch Ruling Favors Shareholder Rights

A Dutch court has halted the sale of LaSalle Bank by ABN Amro Holding NV until shareholders can vote on it. The ruling benefits a banking consortium seeking to make a rival bid for ABN and its bank, according to the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). ABN wants to sell…

May 4, 2007 2:50 PM CDT

SEC Ignores Lawyers’ Role in Some Cases

A legal opinion that a newly issued stock can be traded right away may be an essential part of “pump and dump” fraud, in which scam artists sell stock in new, worthless companies. Yet the Securities and Exchange Commission apparently is not targeting lawyers who issue such opinions unless they…

May 4, 2007 2:05 PM CDT

Banker Accused of Insider Trading

A junior investment banker has been charged with leaking inside information about investment deals before they were announced. Hafiz Muhammad Zubair Naseem, who works at Credit Suisse in Manhattan, was arrested yesterday, the New York Times reports. Naseem is accused of telling a Pakistani investment banker about the pending deals,…

May 4, 2007 1:52 PM CDT

Attorney Convicted in Stock Price Scheme

An Atlanta attorney has been found guilty of securities fraud. Attorney Ulysses Thomas Ware was accused of issuing press releases to increase the price of stock before selling it at a profit, the New York Law Journal reports. A federal jury in the Southern District of New York found Ware…

May 1, 2007 1:32 PM CDT

Stock Tip: Check Status of Exchange

Publicly traded Nasdaq may be liable for fraud, appeals court says

May 1, 2007 10:59 AM CDT

Enron Case Tests Bank Liability

The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to expand aiding and abetting liability for banks. Ben Stein argues in a New York Times column that the high court needs to protect shareholders and “send up a warning flare to investment banks” that they cannot aid fraud. The court is being…

Apr 30, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

Seven-Year Contempt Confinement Ends

After spending seven years in jail for contempt of court, investment adviser Martin Armstrong is free to begin serving a five-year sentence for conspiracy to commit securities, mail and wire fraud. A federal judge has ruled the jailing for failure to turn over almost $15 million in assets has lost…

Apr 30, 2007 12:50 PM CDT

Penalty for Foreign Bribe is Largest

An oil company has agreed to pay $44 million in combined fines and penalties for bribing foreign officials, the largest penalty to date, the Justice Department has announced. Baker Hughes Services International Inc. pleaded guilty yesterday to violating anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a deal that…

Apr 27, 2007 5:13 PM CDT