Feds open to SAC Capital deal
Wꦗhen hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen talks, Uncle Sam ཧlistens.
Federal prosecutors have proposed settling the government’s criminal case against Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors — but 𝔉are insisting the $10 billion-plus ꧒fund admit to insider trading, according to a report.
The pro🃏posed settlement of the most-watched🧜 lawsuit on Wall Street would come with a fine of up to $2 billion, the report said.
The proposal from US Attorney Preet Bharara comes on the heels of a request from SAC’s lawyers suggest🥂ing just such an end to the high-wattage legal fight.
SAC’s lawyers, according to the report at wsj.com, first proposed a much lower amount — and suggested the $616 million ♈the Stamford, Conn., fund paid to settle a regulatory suit in March be counted toward th♈e criminal fine.
The SAC legal team’s first offer was closer to𒁃 $1 billion, according to a report Monday by Bloomberg.
SAC’s la𝐆wyers are expected to counter the government’s comeback proposal in the coming weeks,
A federal grand jury in July 🎃charged the 21-year-old fund with insider-trading and said cheating by traders there was “substantial, pervasive and on a scale without precedent in t🥂he hedge fund industry.”
C𓄧ohen was not charged criminally, and SAC has maintained 🦩the firm was operated properly.
Eight current or former employees of SAC have 🌞been charged with insider trading.
Six of the eight have already pleaded guilty.
In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Cohe🍸n personally, allegin🌺g he failed to supervise the two employees who are still facing trial for insider trading: Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg.
The SEC’s case seeks to ban Cohe♍n frඣom managing other people’s money.
If Cohen succe💯eds in hashing out a deal, even if he’s barred from the industry, he would still walk away with billions of dollars and be able to run a family office.
SAC is facing roughly $6 billion in withdrawals by outside investors, which will leave the firm with roughly $9 billion by the end of the year — the bulk of which is Cohen’s person♉al fortune. His employees have about $1 billion invested in the firm.