SAC seeks approval of $1.8 B settlement for insider trading scandal

In a two-page letter filed by SAC Capital Advisors LP lawyer Martin Klotz, the Steve Cohen-run firm is asking for US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain to approve the $1.8 billion settlement for the government over the company's insider trading activities. SAC, who said in the letter that it was remorseful for the illegal activities done by its employees, has also agreed to close its investment advisory business as part of the deal. Bloomberg said that the sentencing hearing of the firm is set for April 10 in Manhattan.

The news agency said that last year, four units of SAC were indicted over charges of reaping reaping hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal profit due to making insider trades by its employees as far back as 1999. Cohen currently faces an administrative action only from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for his failure to act on the illegal activities of the hedge fund. On the other hand, eight former and current employees of SAC had since been convicted of insider trader.

Klotz wrote on behalf of SAC in the letter, "The defendants are deeply remorseful for the misconduct of each of the individuals who broke the law while employed by them. Even one person crossing the line into illegal behavior is unacceptable. The defendants are chastened by this experience, but are determined to learn from it. There can be no doubt that these and other penalties send a strong public message about the costs of the conduct that have brought the defendants before Your Honor."

At the time of the hearing of the company in November last year, Swain said that she wanted to to go over a pre-sentence report of a money-laundering case by the US government. The case, which is part of the agreement overall, prior to approving the deal wherein SAC will pay $900 million in fines to resolve the criminal case it was facing at that time. Klotz then had told Swain that the fine was too high when compared to the high end of the $823 million range under the advisory federal sentencing guidelines.

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SAC Capital Advisors LP, SAC insider trading scandal

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