JON'S CELL: It may not be the crime of the century, but that hasn’t stopped the Wall Street crowd from lining up for a front row seat at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in the lower part of Manhattan. That’s where former SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund portfolio manager Mathew Martoma sits on trial for what the government is calling “the most lucrative insider trading scheme ever charged.”
39-year-old Martoma is accused of committing securities fraud and conspiracy when he allegedly traded securities after obtaining non-public information about the trial studies of an Alzheimer’s disease drug known as bapineuzumab.
Prosecutors claim that Martoma allegedly used the information, which stated that the drug was ineffective to recommend that SAC’s billionaire owner, Stephen A. Cohen, short sale $700 million of Elan and Wyeth stock.
Although the stock of both Elan and Wyeth fell after the negative public announcement, SAC avoided the loss due to the short sale of the stocks. Instead, SAC had a combined profit and loss of approximately $276 million.
Prosecutors also plan to show that Martoma made a $9.3 million dollar bonus off his alleged while collar crime. If convicted Martoma, who is not expected to testify, could face up to 15 years in jail.
Meanwhile, Cohen is not expected to testify against Martoma and has not been charged criminally. SAC has, however, made a guilty plea to securities fraud and must pay $1.8 billion.
White collar crimes are considered serious offenses. An experienced criminal defense attorney can ensure that a defendant’s right are protected during the legal process.
Source: Huffington Post Crime, “The high-stakes insider trading trial of Mathew Martoma” Martha McLean, Jan. 10, 2014
