I’m astounded and almost (but not quite!) speechless after reading the SEC’s complaint from last week against a former Nixon Peabody associate for insider trading. The SEC alleges that a client, Teleplus Consumer Services Inc., called the lawyer and asked her to draft a letter of intent about a possible merger between Teleplus and a company called Rooms.com. 15 minutes later, the lawyer allegedly called her broker and told him to buy 10,000 shares of Teleplus at 12 cents per share. The stock price jumped when the deal was announced two days later, giving the associate a quick $5,800 profit.
People, please!! Are you kidding?! Would you rob a bank by walking in the front door with no mask on (and wearing a shirt with your name, address and phone number written on it), and then make a “getaway” walk home along a busy road (past the police station) carrying two big burlap sacks with green dollar signs on the side with bills pouring out of the top?
