Wall St. employees accused in insider trading ring

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Several Wall Street professionals and their relatives or friends were charged with running an insider trading ring with information on mergers and acquisitions, officials said on Thursday.

The criminal and civil cases in U.S. District Court in Manhattan involve former employees at financial firms, including UBS AG, Jefferies Group and Blackstone Group LP.

Authorities contend they leaked confidential information about supermarket chain Albertsons Inc before its 2006 buyout became public, as well as inside tips on other companies, allowing family and friends in Greece, Cyprus and the United States to reap illegal profits of more than $11.6 million.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil charges against seven men, including an employee of Blackstone Group who had previously been charged criminally for alleged insider trading involving Albertsons stock.

The cases were filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Criminal charges were brought by U.S. prosecutors against Joseph Contorinis, 44, a former portfolio manager at Jefferies Asset Management LLC; trader Michael Koulouroudis and UBS financial adviser Nicos Achillea Stephanou.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE51463F20090205?sp=true

---

I'm shocked...

:eyes:

[catnhatnh]

1. Hmmm...UBS?

The usual suspects...don't these bastards owe us the names of 17,000 tax cheats-you know, well-to-do felons???

[w4rma]

2. Very good. This is how we have to clean up our financial system. (nt)

[NM Independent]

3. NEWSFLASH

Water is wet.

Dogs like scraps.

Dirt tastes bad.

In other news...

[Skink]

4. Martha trading or Madoff scamming.

[Demeter]

5. Well, That's One Nest of Vipers

Too bad there are more snakes than anything else....

[Stevepol]

6. Bush had no trouble nailing Marth Stewart. Wonder how he missed these guys?

Maybe somebody made off with the indictments.

[ThomCat]

13. I guess none of them are prominent and democrats.

Otherwise, you know the Bush administration would have been all over them.

[jordi_fanclub]

7. Harry Markopolos, A king among clowns

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Harry Markopolos needs to head whatever government agency is responsible for checking up on Wall Street. Period.

How could anyone come to any other conclusion after watching the man thoroughly dissect the regulatory failure that allowed Bernie Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme to thrive? Markopolos not only knew exactly what Madoff was doing, he knew what regulators weren't doing and why.

Just when you thought the financial crisis has created nothing but villains, along comes Markopolos, the bookish, humble whistleblower who courageously fought in vain for nearly a decade to get regulators to take a close look at Madoff.
He took Capitol Hill by storm Wednesday, unleashing a double blow of written and spoken testimony that painted a devastating picture of the alleged Ponzi schemer Madoff and unleashed withering criticism of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
...
FINRA is "a corrupt organization" looking to protect its members, he said.
...
Congressional leaders should be alarmed that they just signed off on Mary Schapiro to run the SEC. Schapiro's record at FINRA is one of multiple small-time settlements and fines while huge frauds, including Madoff, went unchecked. Her appointment is even more troubling considering the testimony offered Wednesday.

Edited to link: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/madoff-whistleblower-has-earned-regulatory/story.aspx?guid=%7B668C0EAB%2DD240%2D44F9%2DBB1C%2D3EB7271CACE9%7D&dist=TNMostRead

[NBachers]

8. Hire Harry Markopolos

And Fire every damn one of the mealy-mouthed, equivocating, evading SEC dodgers who appeared Wednesday.

They're good for nothing.

Fire them immediately.

[Frustratedlady]

10. Well, the SEC sure got their heads reamed out yesterday.

They called them every name in the book and all they could do was stammer and stutter. It was great to watch. Now, if that wasn't just for show, maybe some more heads will roll.

Will there be anyone left after they do, though? Who cares.

[dixiegrrrrl]

12. Pls. feel free to send e-mail to Pres. Obama re: Mary Shapiro.

The luster is dimming on the "Change" sign.

[No Elephants]

9. Gee, I sure hope something like this doesn't cause them to miss out on their bonuses. Only

11.6 million among several traders and their friends and families, though? Chump change. I bet the heads of the large firms discuss their shop's "insider info" with each other at least once a month.

[Gin]

11. Markopolos said he had a 2 year family commitment when asked if he could take

a government job....

[SoCalDem]

14. The whole thing is rigged.. I am not surprised at this..

When 401-ks came along, wall street KNEW they had this weekly infusion of BIG bucks coming in every week, and for at least a few decades, most people would be only ADDING to it.. It's no accident that starinig in 2001, Bushites wanted Scocial secuity money to start going there too.. the clock was ticking away, and within a decade people would start PULLING MONEY OUT, and all the low wage dead end jobs created, and the hard financial times during the last 15 years probably meant that the 401k money would be less than what they needed for their slush funds (gambling money)..

Bush knew this was all about to implode..he just miscalculated by a few months...

Can you imagine if all this had happened 9 months later? It would be billed at "the country reacting to a black president"..

[NashVegas]

15. As It Is, the Bomb Was Still Pretty Well-Timed

To coincide with an incoming Dem.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

16. In other news...bees make low, vibrating, humming sounds.