LawFuel.com –
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, announced additional charges of
insider trading against DANIEL A. CORBIN, 32, of Miami Beach,
Florida, in a Superseding Indictment filed yesterday in Manhattan
federal court.
According to the Superseding Indictment, previously
filed Complaints, and guilty pleas in this case:
CORBIN and co-defendant JAMIL A. BOUCHAREB were day
traders who obtained material non-public information from MATTHEW
C. DEVLIN, an employee at a multinational investment bank and
broker-dealer in New York, New York. DEVLIN’s wife worked on
mergers and acquisitions of publicly-traded companies at an
international communications firm in New York. As a result of
her position, DEVLIN’s wife obtained material non-public
information about a number of mergers and acquisitions before
they were publicly announced. FREDERICK E. BOWERS, a sales
representative at DEVLIN’s company, also obtained material nonpublic
information from DEVLIN.
From approximately February 2005 through September
2008, DEVLIN obtained material non-public information from his
wife and shared different portions of it with different sets of
individuals, including CORBIN, BOUCHAREB, and BOWERS, who traded
on it for substantial profit. CORBIN, BOUCHAREB, and BOWERS knew
that the source of the information was DEVLIN’s wife, and
referred to her as “the Golden Goose.” CORBIN and BOUCHAREB used
that inside information to trade in the securities of a number of
companies, reaped substantial profits, and compensated DEVLIN for
the tips with thousands of dollars in payments and other benefits
in return for the information he was providing them. From
February 2005 through September 2008, BOUCHAREB and CORBIN traded
on inside information regarding mergers and acquisitions of 10
publicly-traded companies.
CORBIN is charged with one count of conspiracy to
commit securities fraud and six counts of securities fraud. The
Superseding Indictment adds allegations and charges relating to
CORBIN’s trading on inside information relating to mergers and
acquisitions of the following publicly traded companies: Aztar
Corporation; Veritas DGC Inc.; Alcan, Inc.; Ventana Medical
Systems, Inc.; Pharmion Corporation; Take-Two Interactive
Software Inc.; and Rohm and Haas. The Superseding Indictment
also seeks additional forfeiture, totaling $2,100,000, which
represents proceeds traceable to CORBIN’s insider trading scheme.
The case is assigned to United States District Judge VICTOR
MARRERO.
The conspiracy charges carry a maximum sentence of five
years in prison and a maximum fine of the greater of $250,000, or
twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense. Each
securities fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in
prison and a maximum fine of $5 million.
* * *
DEVLIN pleaded guilty on December 18, 2008, to multiple
counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities
fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on a later date.
BOUCHAREB pleaded guilty on May 9, 2009, to one count
of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of
securities fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on a later
date.
BOWERS was sentenced on September 16, 2009, to three
years of probation by United States District Judge GEORGE B.
DANIELS after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to
commit securities fraud and one count of securities fraud.
Mr. BHARARA praised the work of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission in the investigation of this case. Mr. BHARARA added
that the investigation is continuing.
Assistant United States Attorney REED M. BRODSKY is in
charge of the prosecution.
This case was brought in coordination with President
BARACK OBAMA’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which
Mr. BHARARA serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and
Commodities Fraud Working Group. President OBAMA established the
interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an
aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and
prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes
representatives from a broad range of federal agencies,
regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local
law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful
array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task
force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive
branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and
prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective
punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat
discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover
proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are
merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent
unless and until proven guilty.
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