The SEC alleges that Walter Little accessed confidential documents on his law firm’s internal computer network related to at least 11 impending announcements involving law firm clients, none of which he personally advised or billed for services. Walter Little then allegedly traded in advance of each announcement and often tipped his neighbor Andrew Berke with material nonpublic information so he could similarly trade in company stocks before the announcements were made publicly. According to the SEC’s complaint, the insider trading occurred from February 2015 to February 2016.
Walter Little and Neighbor Charged by SEC for Insider Trading
On May 11, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Walter Little, a former partner at an international law firm, and his neighbor with making more than $1 million in illicit profits by insider trading around corporate announcements.
“As alleged in our complaint, Little used highly-confidential information about his law firm’s clients to make more than $1 million for himself and his neighbor through illegal insider trading and tipping,” said Stephanie Avakian, Acting Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Little and Berke.
The SEC’s complaint charges Little and Berke with violating Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 as well as Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The complaint seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, penalties, and permanent injunctions.
For further information about this article, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal and compliance advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
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Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
101 Plaza Real South, Suite 202 North
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
Telephone: (561) 416-8956
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www.SecuritiesLawyer101.com
