Lawyer charged over $30m in illegal profits
An American M&A lawyer has been accused of being part of an insider trading scheme that has netted $US32 million ($A30.6m).The Financial Times reports that New Jersey prosecutors have filed
An American M&A lawyer has been accused of being part of an insider trading scheme that has netted $US32 million ($A30.6m).
The Financial Times reports that New Jersey prosecutors have filed charges against Matthew Kluger as one of the key masterminds behind the scheme that was allegedly perpetrated over 17 years.
Kluger, a senior associate with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for five years, is accused of stealing confidential information from the firm in relation to transactions involving high-profile technology companies including Oracle, Sun Microsystems and 3Com.
They further allege that Kruger was part of a scheme that invested more than $100 million during his five years at Wilson Sonsini, with profits on some deals exceeding $10 million.
The lawyer is also accused of trading on confidential information while an employee of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. None of the three law firms where Kluger has worked are implicated in the alleged fraud.
Investigators believe the illegal trading started in 1994, with Johnson & Johnson's acquisition of Neutrogena. It has been alleged that Kluger and other members of the scam concealed their activities by using pay phones and throwaway prepaid mobile phones.