Nope, he's right in general. Commission scamming, interest rate scamming, churning the list goes on and on. Can't remember who it was who said 'the definition of capitalism is the passing of money to one entity to the next until there's nothing left'. And that right there is Wall Street or any other major financial centre. And before any peon pops up and says 'NO YOU'RE WRONG I MAKE MASSIVE MONEY', well always exceptions the rules.
AP Photo: Randi Collotta, center, a former employee of Morgan Stanley and Co. in Manhattan, is escorted by her attorneys Michael Cornacchia, left, and Kenneth Breen as she leaves federal court in New York, Thursday May 10, 2007 Couple Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading By Larry Neumeister, Associated Press Writer, Thursday May 10, 8:38 pm ET Guilty Pleas Entered in Giant Wall Street Insider-Trading Ring NEW YORK (AP) -- A married couple, both lawyers, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud Thursday in what was described as one of the biggest insider-trading operations since the 1980s, a $15 million scam that reached into some of the nation's top financial firms. Randi Collotta, 30, a former employee of Morgan Stanley and Co. in Manhattan, and her husband, Christopher Collotta, 34, who worked in private practice, were among 13 people who were criminally charged in the case. The couple received $9,000 in kickbacks for inside tips that generated more than $600,000 in illegal profits, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Fish said. In a plea deal with the government, Randi Collotta agreed not to appeal any sentence as long it's between one and 1 1/2 years in prison. Christopher Collotta vowed not appeal any sentence from 10 months to a year and four months in prison. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero set sentencing for Sept. 7. They remain free on $250,000 bail each. Randi Collotta, sobbing through much of the proceeding, said she agreed in September 2004 with her husband to provide inside information she obtained in her job at Morgan Stanley to a broker, Marc Jurman of Palm Beach Garden, Fla. Jurman pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and securities fraud. He was also named in a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint earlier this year. She said she told her husband about pending mergers and acquisitions between September 2004 and July 2005. "I knew my husband would share the information with Marc Jurman," she said. She added: "I understood my actions were wrong and I accept responsibility for what I did." Fish said Jurman shared that inside information with others, resulting in several hundred thousand dollars in illegal profits beyond $38,500 Jurman pocketed after trading securities based on what the Collotas had told him. After the plea, Randi Collotta declined to comment. Her lawyer, Kenneth Breen, said, "Randi Collotta accepted responsibility for what she did and today took a significant step in putting this behind her." Christopher Collotta, like his wife, said in court that he knew he acted illegally and accepted responsibility. He declined to comment outside court as well. His lawyer, Brian Rafferty, issued a statement outside court saying his client "deeply regrets his actions in participating in these offenses, and realizes that he will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life." The government said the trading ring relied on insiders at Morgan Stanley and UBS Securities LLC to steal valuable secrets from the companies. It also alleged a Banc of America Securities LLC broker accepted kickbacks and that two former representatives of Bear Stearns & Co. obtained proprietary UBS information. The SEC has described the case as one of the most pervasive Wall Street insider trading rings since Ivan Boesky and Dennis Levine engaged in notorious insider-trading schemes during the 1980s. According to prosecutors, Randi Collotta was an associate in Morgan Stanley's global compliance division during the conspiracy. When they announced the case in March, prosecutors and SEC officials said the defendants included registered representatives, compliance personnel [!!] and hedge fund portfolio managers who traded hundreds of tips over five years. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said Wall Street professionals repeatedly traded on secrets revealed to them by insiders at UBS and Morgan Stanley. Stock upgrades and downgrades by UBS and impending corporate acquisitions involving Morgan Stanley clients were relayed before the news hit the market, authorities said. The SEC said ringleaders working the UBS side of the scheme went to great lengths to hide their actions through clandestine meetings, disposable cell phones and secret codes. At least three people have already pleaded guilty to charges in the case and await sentencing. Meanwhile, Jennifer Wang, who also worked at Morgan Stanley, and her husband, Ruben Chen, of Englishtown, N.J., were charged Thursday in an unrelated insider-trading case with conspiracy and securities fraud. Prosecutors said Wang made $600,000 on secrets she stole from Morgan Stanley while she was a vice president. She and Chen, a vice president at ING Investment Management Americas, resigned after investigations began. After a brief court appearance late Thursday, Wang and Chen were each released on $2 million bail. Chen is required to submit to electronic monitoring. A defense lawyer did not immediately return a telephone call for comment. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070510/securities_fraud.html?.v=3&
......and in a casino, free drinks from waitresses with wonderful accessories. We deal with "stocks" because they are an intricate part of capital formation, which allows us to live this lifestyle while a significant number of the earth's population live on dirt floors and eat snakes. We're trying like hell to clean it up, and you know where we get stonewalled? Politicians. We'll get them, and soon. We all have to chip in and make a difference, and let the powers that be know this is not to be tolerated. Wait till you see what the next couple of months bring. If you think you're disgusted now.....:eek:
Doesn't SAC pay for this info...I heard they get upgrades/downgrades before anyone else as well as other info...I guess if you pay in ticket charges what they do, it is ok. It's only when you don't pay corporate, that's when you are in trouble.
All that risk, and now punishment, for $9,000 in kickbacks? I want to know who the big fish are. Who are they protecting?
bingo.....slap on the wrist for securities fraud is what i expected,however the real joke here is that $15m was small beans as well as the Englishtown couple for 600k....that`s a flat out friggin joke compared of the real shit that goes down every single day.SEC throws the public a bone every now & then off the small jokers but turn a blind eye to the real corruption in the industry & where the real $ is made......& don`t think they don`t now whom the "untouchables" are....SEC is the most useless & most likely corrupt entity due to the fact that they fail to enforce whom they are aware.
I could not agree with you more. The thread heading is hilarious "One of The Biggest Wall Street Insider-Trading Rings" This story is like a pimple on an elephants ass.
"In Hong Kong's case, we don't seem to have such enforcement. I cannot say it's not serious, but it's very difficult to identify. The market here expects insider trading to occur, but it does not pay too much attention." http://www.latimes.com/business/pri...1,1238591.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business