<p>I don’t get why Cohen is such a focus. He’s been looked at a for a decade and nothing has happened. You’d think one of his many fired traders would have turned him in by now. IMO the only reason the government is going after him is because he makes too much money and they want to show the retail investor that they really are good at investing, people like SAC just beat them because of cheating. </p>
<p>I’d really prefer the SEC and feds to look into risk management, archaic and impossible to read financial filings, and leverage instead of spending all of their times going after hedge funds (which had nothing to do with any financial problems in history with the exception of LTCM). Dodd-Frank hasn’t even been written and Herbalife just was allowed to hire PWC despite major conflicts of interest (they’re basically auditing their own work).</p>
<p>Wall Street and many other fund managers have been proven to be corrupt so there is certainly a proven need for such an investigation. Also Cohen/SAC has already paid $614 million in penalties, not a good start to claiming innocence. The DOJ usually doesn’t go on fishing expeditions so considering everything, I think Mr. Cohen might have a very big problem. (My opinion)</p>
<p>I disagree about the DOJ. Mike Milken was a full fishing expedition (and IMO one of the most shameful cases the government has ever brought. The government should give him a full pardon and personal apology). Also, settling SEC charges is routine. It’s almost impossible to win SEC civil cases because the civil nature of the offense lowers the bar greatly and the SEC spends nearly all of its resources on insider trading so fighting is futile (look up the Mark Cuban case to really understand where you’re tax dollars are going to when it comes to “cracking down” on wall street). Here’s a video explaining the SEC which I think illustrates my point well (key point to take away from this is that if you are a successful investor the SEC thinks you’re a criminal): </p>
<p>Apology? You act like Wall Street is the victim. Sorry reputation is everything and Wall Street doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt. Besides Cohen is already guilty of civil penalties. His guilt is proven. The only thing remaining to be determined is a criminal indictment. BTW insider trading is not a victimless crime. The stock market is a zero sum business. Whatever he made, someone had to lose.</p>
<p>I never said insider trading was a victimless crime. I think raj, boesky, Dennis Levine, and the various crooked sac people belong in the slammer. However, bringing the heat against Cohen just as the 5 year deadline is about to expire seems questionable. Also, they already tapped his phone…nothing. And not one of his possibly hundreds of fired traders has been able to provide any evidence of his guilt. </p>
<p>Also, lots of other people think Milkens case was unfair. Basically his so called crimes were never crimes before or since he pled guilty to them.</p>
<p>I think the government’s theory is where there is smoke there is fire. Several of Cohen’s subordinates have gotten in trouble for insider trading or are suspected of such. Under the govt’s theory if they are bad so is Cohen, but the reality is that they have not disclosed any clear evidence on him yet.</p>
<p>SAC knows how to toe the line at the letter of the law. Years ago when CDS was just in its infancy, SAC was dominating the market and its analysts were sticking around for the ‘inside’ portion of bank loan meetings for buyouts. Those of us on the public bond side had to leave. I am not holding my breath that the government can bring them down, but will open up a very nice bottle of wine the day it happens. </p>
<p>Agree w razorsharp on his/her assessment. They pay very, very well, so most people have kept their mouths shut.</p>