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 Authorities said Steven Metro, 40, a managing clerk at Simpson
Thacher & Bartlett, stole tips about corporate transactions
involving his firm's clients, and passed them through the middleman
to stockbroker Vladimir Eydelman, 42, who would trade for himself,
family, the middleman and customers.
They alleged that the scheme netted more than $5.6 million of
illegal profit on at least 12 transactions, with some profits being
kicked back to Metro, and other profits spent by Eydelman on a home,
jewelry and a $118,000 Maserati.
The case is the latest in a multi-year federal crackdown on insider
trading. It was uncovered after the middleman, a friend of Metro's
who met him in 1995 in their first year of law school, began
cooperating with the FBI in December.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey said transactions covered
by the criminal complaint included a 2009 investment in Sirius XM
Radio by Liberty Media Corp, and a 2013 merger of Office Depot Inc
and OfficeMax Inc.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a related civil
lawsuit against Eydelman and Metro. Authorities said more than $33
million of illegal trades were made.
"Law firms are sanctuaries for the confidential treatment of client
information," Daniel Hawke, chief of the SEC enforcement division's
market abuse unit, said in a statement. "This scheme victimized not
only a law firm but also its corporate clients and ultimately the
investors in those companies."
The case echoes a 2011 prosecution, also in New Jersey, where a
corporate lawyer was accused of passing merger tips to a trader,
netting more than $37 million over 17 years, with the help of a
middleman who eventually cooperated with authorities.
BAIL SET
Eydelman, 42, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, was charged with eight
counts of securities fraud, and Metro, 40, of Katonah, New York, was
charged with nine counts. Each was also charged with four counts of
tender offer fraud and one count of conspiracy.
Bail was set at $1 million for each defendant at a hearing before
U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in the federal court in
Newark, New Jersey, according to Fishman's office.
William Silverman, a lawyer for Eydelman, declined to comment. James
Froccaro, a lawyer for Metro, said his client "looks forward to
being vindicated."
Morgan Stanley put Eydelman on leave and will cooperate with
authorities, spokesman James Wiggins said. "Obviously we do not
tolerate insider trading," he added.
Simpson Thacher said it terminated Metro's employment on Wednesday,
and will also cooperate with authorities.
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The 130-year-old law firm called the charges "deeply disturbing and
unprecedented in our long history," and "completely inconsistent
with our values, our culture and the strict policies we have in
place to protect client confidences."
Simpson Thacher said it has more than 850 lawyers. Metro earned his
law degree but worked as a clerk, prosecutors said.
HUNGRY FOR TIPS
Prosecutors said the middleman, identified in court papers as a
confidential witness or "CW," would get tips from Metro at a
Manhattan bar or coffee shop near where they worked, and then meet
Eydelman near the central clock in Grand Central Station.
They said the middleman would show Eydelman a napkin or piece of
paper, such as a post-it note, containing the ticker symbol of the
stock that was to be purchased.
Once Eydelman memorized the tip, "the CW then would fold up the
paper or napkin with the ticker symbol(s) written on it, place it
into his mouth, and chew the paper or napkin to destroy it," the
criminal complaint said.
Eydelman allegedly began his illegal trading at Oppenheimer & Co,
where he had worked before joining Morgan Stanley in September 2012.
An Oppenheimer spokeswoman had no immediate comment.
Authorities said the middleman this year began recording
conversations with the defendants, including on February 20 when
Eydelman gave him a cigar box containing $7,000 meant for Metro, who
wanted money to buy and renovate a new home.
"Take these cigars, put it to good use," Eydelman told the
middleman, according to the criminal complaint.
In the 2011 case, the lawyer Matthew Kluger was charged with passing
tips to the trader Garrett Bauer, with the help of middleman Kenneth
Robinson. Kluger was sentenced to 12 years in prison, Bauer to nine
years, and Robinson to 2-1/4 years.
The cases are U.S. v. Metro et al, U.S. District Court, District of
New Jersey, No. 14-cr-08079; and SEC v. Eydelman et al in the same
court, No. 14-01742.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York;
esditing by Stephen
Powell, Bernard Orr)
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