In March, I began tracking here the SEC’s trials to date in FY 2014 (which began on October 1, 2013), and the results in each case. On Friday of last week, the jury returned a verdict in what I believe to be the SEC’s 14th trial this year–its insider trading case against Nelson Obus, Peter Black and Thomas Strickland related to trading that preceded Allied Capital Corp.’s June 2001 acquisition of SunSource, Inc.
After a two week trial, a federal jury in the Southern District of New York found on May 30 that all three defendants were not liable for violating the insider trading provisions of the federal securities laws. Following the verdict, Obus criticized the SEC for what he called a “12-year campaign of regulatory overreach.” SEC spokesman John Nester said the agency was “disappointed” but respected the jury’s verdict.
