| |
Truly amazing!! illegally used custoimer funds and he gets a 2 year suspension ..and is still working with Bear !!
Wow!! The Street is dirtier and dirtier every day..
Former Bears Stearns Official Settles SEC Charges
By Robert Kowalski
Staff Reporter
4/20/00 1:52 PM ET
Richard Harriton, the former head of clearing for a Bear Stearns (BSC:NYSE - news - boards) subsidiary, has agreed to a $1 million fine and a two-year ban from the securities industry to settle fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The settlement, announced Thursday, stemmed from Harriton's activities as president of Bear Stearns Securities, which provided clearing services for A.R. Baron, a small New York brokerage firm that collapsed in 1996 and caused $75 million in losses for most of its 5,000 customers.
"We're very, very pleased," said Bill Baker, an SEC spokesman. "It's a strong sanction that addresses serious misconduct."
Harriton's lawyer, Howard Wilson, called the settlement an "appropriate resolution" of the charges.
"Mr. Harriton is 65 and wants to get on with his life and not spend years fighting this," Wilson said. He said Harriton had agreed to the settlement because it was a "charge consistent with negligence."
A Bear Stearns spokeswoman said, "We are gratified that Richard Harriton and the SEC have reached a settlement, and we wish him well."
The settlement brings to a close one of the highest-profile securities fraud cases the agency has sought to enforce in recent years.
The SEC charged Harriton last year with charging customers for Baron stock trades that he knew were unauthorized, with providing Baron with capital to keep it in business despite its illegal activities and with using money from a Baron initial public offering to reduce Bear Stearns' exposure to Baron trades.
In August, Bear Stearns and the SEC settled civil fraud charges related to the firm's activities with Baron, and the firm agreed to pay $38.5 million in fines and restitution.
But Harriton steadfastly maintained his innocence and vowed to fight the SEC charges. He also resigned his position as Bear Stearns clearing head, though the company then hired him as a consultant .
Harriton's case had been scheduled to go to trial in March, but was postponed until early May. |
|
