A prominent hedge fund manager allegedly received insider trading tips that allowed him to get $4 million in fraudulent profits and then tried to cover his tracks, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Leon Cooperman is one of the first and most well-known hedge fund managers in the world. He runs Omega Advisors, which is a large investor in Atlas. An Atlas executive allegedly provided Cooperman with inside trading information, according to the New York Post.
The SEC filed suit against the 73-year-old magnate for raking in $4 million in illegal profits stemming from the use of nonpublic information on Wednesday, The New York Times reports. This is the first and largest insider trading case to be brought before the courts since the definition of insider trading was more narrowly defined in December of 2014.
Cooperman began snatching up stock in the company as quickly as possible in 2010, the Post reports.
After the SEC filed suit, Cooperman quickly defended himself with a five-page letter and a phone call to authorities.
“It took me 50 years of hard work and playing by the rules to get where I got. I am not going to let these people destroy my legacy,” Cooperman said in the phone call, according to the Times.
The SEC states that Cooperman used his influence as one of the largest shareholders in Atlas to gain inside information that he could then use to make big profits. Cooperman allegedly told the unnamed insider that he would not use the information he was provided for profit. He then, however, directed his firm to purchase more Atlas stock and profited when Atlas stock rose some 31 percent, the Times reports.
The commission wants Cooperman barred from acting as director or officer of Omega Adivsors and is asking that he and his firm pay penalties and return all profits from the illegal deal, the Post reports.
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