" United States Attorney
Southern District of New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 16, 2010
CONTACT:
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
YUSILL SCRIBNER
JANICE OH
EDELI RIVERA
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600
FORMER PROPRIETARY TRADER PLEADS GUILTY TO INSIDER
TRADING CHARGES IN MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, announced that DAVID PLATE,
35, of New York, New York, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and
securities fraud charges arising from an insider trading scheme
in which PLATE executed trades in the securities of 3Com
Corporation ("3Com") and Axcan Pharma, Inc. ("Axcan").
According to the charging documents and the guilty plea
proceeding:
In 2007, PLATE worked as a proprietary trader at The
Schottenfeld Group LLC. While at Schottenfeld, PLATE received
from ZVI GOFFER material, nonpublic information regarding the
potential acquisitions of 3Com and Axcan. PLATE believed that
this information came from someone who was working on the
transactions and who had a duty to maintain the confidentiality
of the information. PLATE purchased 3Com and Axcan securities
transactions based on this inside information.
In fact, ZVI GOFFER had obtained the information
regarding the 3Com and Axcan acquisitions (via an intermediary)
from Ropes & Gray LLP attorneys ARTHUR CUTILLO and BRIEN
SANTARLAS. In violation of their duties of confidentiality to
Ropes & Gray and its clients, CUTILLO and SANTARLAS provided
inside information about several mergers and acquisitions of
public companies for which Ropes & Gray was providing legal
services (including the 3Com and Axcan acquisitions) prior to the
public announcements of the deals.
PLATE pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one
count of securities fraud contained in the Indictment before
United States District Judge RICHARD J. SULLIVAN. A sentencing
date has not yet been scheduled.
SANTARLAS previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy and
securities fraud charges. Charges against ZVI GOFFER and CUTILLO
remain pending, and both are presumed innocent unless and until
proven guilty.
Mr. BHARARA praised the work of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and thanked the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission for its assistance in the investigation. Mr.
BHARARA also noted that the investigation is continuing.
This case was brought in coordination with President
BARACK OBAMA's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which
Mr. BHARARA serves as a Co-Chair of the Securities and
Commodities Fraud Working Group. President OBAMA established the
interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an
aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and
prosecute financial crimes.
The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies,
regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local
law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful
array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task
force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive
branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and
prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective
punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat
discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover
proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Assistant United States Attorneys ANDREW FISH and REED
BRODSKY are in charge of the prosecution.
10-220 ### ""
Remember Ropes and Gray is also Connected to Proskauer Rose and to the iViewit Stolen Patent and Fraud on Shareholders.. patent office fraud. and the Massive Shareholder Fraud at www.MassiveShareholderFraud.com
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