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Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Buckey who wrote (89236)	1/11/2005 5:05:41 PM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 122087

Government Begins Closing Argument In Elgindy Case 01-11-05 02:31 PM EST NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Short seller Anthony Elgindy and former Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent Jeffrey Royer were opportunistic thieves who wanted to profit from using nonpublic information, a federal prosecutor told a Brooklyn jury Tuesday. "This case is about fraud, corruption and betrayal," Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Levine said at the beginning of his closing statement. Elgindy and Royer were charged in May 2002 in a racketeering indictment with securities fraud, market manipulation, extortion and obstruction of justice. They were charged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Levine told jurors that the government's evidence in the case is overwhelming. "These two men were engaged in a thoroughly corrupt relationship predicated on theft. They weren't trying to help out," Levine told jurors. During the 10-week trial, the government alleged that Royer shared confidential information he lifted from FBI computers with Elgindy, who then used his Web site to release the information in a way to artificially affect the stock prices of companies. Elgindy's lawyers have argued in court that he was a crusader trying to eradicate market fraud. Royer also has claimed in his own defense that he was only sharing confidential information with Elgindy and others as a tool to learn more details about securities fraud. But prosecutor Levine expressed a very different view during his closing argument. "There was no crusade here. They weren't heroes being called on the 'bat- phone' because the commissioner couldn't handle a crime. They were mercenaries," Levine told jurors. According to Levine, Elgindy's and Royer's motive is clear: "It's greed. It's that simple," Levine said, explaining that Royer was facing mounting debt in 2000 and 2001. Evidence introduced in court showed that the former FBI agent spent most of 2001 sharing information with Elgindy and others while he was negotiating a job with the San Diego short seller. Levine is expected to conclude his closing argument after the lunch recess Tuesday. Royer's defense lawyer, Lawrence Gerzog, will present his closing argument to jurors Wednesday morning. He will be followed by Elgindy's lawyers, Barry Berke and Joel Isaacson. - By Carol S. Remond, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2074 Dow Jones Newswires 01-11-05 1431ET Copyright (C) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. news.morningstar.com