Insider Trading Settlements Down

A recently released study has found that the Securities and Exchange Commission settled only 25 insider trading cases during the first half of its fiscal year, ending March 31. If the trend continues, it would represent the fewest number of insider trading cases since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 took effect. The study’s authors say the data are consistent with the SEC’s focus on litigating higher profile cases that the agency hopes will deter others from wrongdoing.

Four More Nabbed for Insider Trading

Bloomberg reports that, in the latest installment of a nationwide crackdown, four hedge fund managers have been charged with insider trading. The charges against Noah Freeman and Donald Longueuil, former portfolio managers at SAC Capital Advisors, as well as Samir Barai and Jason Pflaum of Barai Capital Management, were related to eight earlier arrests at Primary Global LLC. In a separate action, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit charging that the four profited by more than $30 million thanks to insider trades.



Woman Arrested, Held without Bail, in Insider Trading Case

Business Week reports that Winifred Jiau, formerly an expert networking consultant with Primary Global Research LLC, was arrested on insider trading charges in late December, and denied bail because she was deemed a flight risk. Jiau allegedly sold information about Nvidia Corp. and Marvell Technology Group to portfolio managers at three hedge funds. She was the fifth consultant arrested in U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's crackdown on hedge fund insider trading. 

SEC Steps Up Insider Trading Investigations

According to the New York Times, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Arnold and Annabel McClellan, former employees of Deloitte Tax, for insider trading. The SEC alleges that the couple communicated information that benefited their relatives in the U.K. by netting $20 million. The Financial Services Authority of Britain charged five recipients of the McClellan’s information with insider trading. This occurs on the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice’s raids at three hedge funds and issuance of subpoenas to investment firms.



Former Deloitte Partner Settles with SEC

According to the New York Times , Thomas Flanagan, a former Deloitte & Touche partner, and his son, Patrick Flanagan, have agreed to pay over $1.1 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission case that accused the pair of insider trading. The SEC claimed that Thomas Flanagan violated auditor independence rules and Deloitte policies by trading on information about Deloitte clients Best Buy, Sears, and Walgreen, and by providing information to his son for additional trades. Under the settlement agreement, the pair neither admits nor denies wrongdoing.