LAWFUEL – MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, announced that SAMUEL CHILDS, 35,
pleaded guilty today to a conspiracy charge stemming from a
scheme in which he agreed to conceal the insider trading activity
of two individuals in exchange for payments of $100,000. CHILDS
entered the guilty plea in Manhattan federal court before United
States District Judge LORETTA A. PRESKA. According to the
Indictment and statements made during today’s guilty plea
proceeding:
In August 2006, CHILDS — a general securities
principal and regional administrator at a brokerage firm called
Assent LLC — determined that two individuals were executing an
insider trading scheme through an Assent account and were reaping
large, illegal profits from that trading. In particular, these
individuals were executing securities transactions based on
material, nonpublic information regarding upcoming upgrades and
downgrades in stock recommendations by analysts at UBS Securities
LLC.
CHILDS, in violation of his duty to Assent, agreed to
conceal the insider trading scheme from higher level Assent
management in exchange for payments totaling $100,000 to him and
$50,000 to co-defendant LAURENCE McKEEVER. Between August 2006
and November 2006, CHILDS received $30,000 pursuant to the
agreement.
McKEEVER pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge on
January 23, 2008, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1,
2008. CHILDS pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to
commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and commercial bribery. His
sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2008. CHILDS faces a
maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.
CHILDS is the last of thirteen defendants, against whom
criminal charges were announced last year in connection with this
investigation, to enter a guilty plea.
Mr. GARCIA, a member of the President’s Corporate Fraud
Task Force, praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and thanked the Securities and Exchange
Commission for its assistance in the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys ANDREW FISH and
DEIRDRE MCEVOY are in charge of the prosecution.
08-088 ###
