In March, an affiliate of SAC Capital agreed to a record high settlement of $616 million for charges of insider trading. As it turned out, the SEC was only getting started with the company and its owner, Steve Cohen. In July, both Cohen and SAC Capital were themselves indicted on insider trading.
Based on reports, SAC Capital agreed earlier this week to settle its charges for $1.2 billion, shattering the record again. In addition, the company agreed to plead guilty to each count in the indictment and close its investment advisory business. The indictment accused the company, among other things, of fostering a culture of insider trading, citing “institutional failure.”
As if setting a new record-high settlement wasn’t enough, the settlement terms give no shelter to Cohen, personally. The settlement states outright that it provides “no immunity from prosecution for any individual and does not restrict the government from charging any individual for any criminal offense.” By refusing to grant immunity to Cohen in this deal, the SEC confirmed that it will continue its civil investigation of the billionaire hedge fund manager and is even considering criminal charges in the future.
The settlement still needs to be approved by the federal court in New York. The hearing is scheduled for Friday. For more, Dealbook has a good analysis of the settlement.
