Compliance chief busted for stealing confidential SEC information
05/11/2019
Ex SEC examiner pleads not guilty for stealing confidential SEC information
A former examiner for the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] allegedly took “COMPROMISING” information about an SEC investigation into a private equity firm that hired him to be its managing director and chief compliance officer.
Michael S. Cohn was charged last week in federal court in Islip, New York with
- obstruction of justice, unauthorized computer access, and unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.
Cohn pleaded not guilty to the superseding indictment (pdf) and was released on a $250,000 bond.
Cohn faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the obstruction of justice count, up to five years on the unauthorized computer access count, and up to a year in prison on the unauthorized disclosure count
Background
- At the SEC enforcement division Cohn title was Securities Compliance Examiner and Industry Specialist.
- He helped investigate securities law violations.
- He left the SEC in October 2018 and went to work for New York-based GPB Capital Holdings, LLC [GBP] - The firm manages about $1.5 billion in assets.
The charge
- During talks with GPB about working there, Cohn allegedly said he had inside information about the SEC’s investigation.
- the DOJ said.
- He disclosed the information to members of GPB’s senior management “on several occasions,”
- The confidential SEC information about GPB that Cohn allegedly took revealed
- “privileged attorney-client work product and contacts with law enforcement and other regulatory agencies.”
The FBI SAY
- The FBI’s William Sweeney said,
- “When Cohn left the SEC to join GPB, he left with more than his own career ambitions.”
- “The proprietary information he allegedly retrieved — from databases he wasn’t authorized to access — included compromising information about a GPB investigation and sensitive details related to the same,
To read original article please click here
The Team
Meet the team of industry experts behind Comsure
Find out moreLatest News
Keep up to date with the very latest news from Comsure
Find out moreGallery
View our latest imagery from our news and work
Find out moreContact
Think we can help you and your business? Chat to us today
Get In TouchNews Disclaimer
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.