Steve Cohen, Super-Rich And Secretive Trader, Faces Possible SEC Investigation

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/steven-cohen-sac-capital_n_2205544.html?utm_hp_ref=business




Steve Cohen, Super-Rich And Secretive Trader, Faces Possible SEC Investigation
The Huffington Post
By Mark Gongloff
Posted: 11/28/2012 3:19 pm EST Updated: 11/28/2012 3:44 pm EST

Huge news on Wall Street: One of its brightest hedge fund stars, SAC Capital, founded by the secretive, ludicrously wealthy Steven A. Cohen, has been hit with a Wells notice.

What is a Wells notice, you ask? Who is Steven Cohen? Excellent questions, and they will be answered in the fullness of time, Dear Reader. Suffice to say that this might just be a watershed moment in the federal government's wide-ranging crusade to crack down on insider trading. Or it could turn out to be nothing. Either way, exciting!

A Wells notice is an informal heads-up from the Securities and Exchange Commission that there is a decent chance you are about to be in some serious hot water. SAC Capital, a Connecticut hedge fund with $13 billion under management, revealed in a conference call with nervous investors Wednesday morning that it recently received just such a notice from the SEC, CNBC reports.

Though SAC has not yet been formally charged with any wrongdoing -- and may never be formally charged -- federal investigators have been giving it the stink eye for many years now. Several former SAC employees have been caught up in the government's insider-trading probe, with many pleading guilty or cutting deals with the government.