Ex-UBS AG Executive to Settle ARS Insider Trading Allegations Made by NY Attorney General Cuomo with $2.75 Million Penalty

As part of a deal to settle ARS insider trading allegations by New York Attorney General Attorney Cuomo, former UBS AG executive David Shulman has agreed to pay $2.75 million. Shulman is accused of finding out through nonpublic, material information that the investment bank’s student loan auction rate securities program was in trouble and that there was a possibility that future auctions involving the student ARS would fail. Yet he allegedly violated New York securities regulations when he proceeded to sell more ARS.

On December 13, 2007, two days after finding out about the ARS risks, Shulman, who supervised the ARS trading desk, sold $1.45 million in personal holdings of student loan ARS to the desk. He was suspended in July 2008.

Shulman has not denied or admitted to the document’s findings. However, as part of the agreement with Cuomo, he is subject to a retroactive 30-month suspension from working as a registered broker-dealer.

In the wake of the ARS market collapse in February 2008 that left so many investors, who were misled into believing their investments were as liquid as cash, with frozen securities, Cuomo remains committed to investigating broker-dealers’ auction-rate securities marketing and sales practices. Many of the investment firms that sold the ARS did so despite allegedly knowing that the securities were in danger of failing.

Since August 2008, Cuomo has gotten 12 financial service firms to agree to repurchase $61 billion of ARS at par. As part of their securities fraud settlements, the broker-dealers are paying $597.3 million in penalties.

Related Web Resources:
Former UBS Muni Chief Settles Probe for $2.75 Million, BusinessWeek, February 18, 2010
Attorney General Cuomo Announces $2.75 Million Insider Trading Settlement with Former UBS Top Executive David Shulman, Office of the NY Attorney General, February 18, 2010
Our stockbroker fraud lawyers continue to work with investors to recoup their ARS losses.