Originally published November 25 2005
Broker receives five-year suspension from SEC
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Former Bank of America Securities broker Theodore Sihpol was fined $200,000 and suspended from the securities industry for five years for allegedly engaging in late trading.
Sihpol has agreed to a $200,000 penalty and a five-year suspension from the securities industry, the SEC said.
Sihpol consented to the settlement without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations.
Later Wednesday, a judge dismissed the remaining criminal charges against Sihpol in a related case brought by New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, according to published reports.
The SEC charged that Sihpol had helped enable hedge fund Canary Partners to trade mutual-fund shares after 4 p.m.
The activity, known as late trading, gives traders an unfair advantage and dilutes the returns of long-term shareholders.
Regulators also alleged that Sihpol falsified, altered or destroyed documentation to cover up the trades.
Soon after the SEC settlement was announced, news emerged that a New York judge had dismissed Spitzer's case against Sihpol.
In June, a state court acquitted Sihpol on 29 of 33 counts that he assisted Canary Partners in late-trading mutual funds.
Jurors were deadlocked on two counts of falsifying business records and two counts of fraud, and Judge James A. Yates declared a mistrial on those charges.
Drawing heat from critics, Spitzer elected to retry Sihpol on the remaining four counts.
The retrial, originally set to begin Aug. 22, was rescheduled for Oct. 20.
However, lawyers from both sides met on Wednesday to discuss the case, and Yates dismissed the remaining four counts, reportedly citing the SEC settlement announced earlier in the day.
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