insider trading

London sentencing watch – scheduled for 4/24 at 11 am as of 4/21

The sentencing for Scott London on his guilty plea for insider trading has been moved back three hours. As of 4/21 he is still scheduled to be sentenced this Thursday, 4/24, but will be appearing at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time instead of 8:00 a.m.

I took a look at the docket this afternoon and found a few items that may be of wider interest.

Sentencing documents

Lots of documents have been filed under seal since my last post on sentencing.  The government’s sentencing memorandum was filed on 4/7; item #47 on the docket. I discussed the government’s recommendation here and here.

Insider trading sentencing watch – London’s trading partner Shaw scheduled to be sentenced May 19

I’ve not been reading the federal court filings for Mr. Bryan Shaw, partner in crime of former KPMG partner Mr. Scott London. Started looking at them this evening.

Most pertinent information at the moment is that his sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 19, 2014 at 8 a.m.

The sentencing has been postponed several times.

London sentencing watch – request filed to continue hearing three days, to April 24

On 4/14/14, the U.S. Attorney and Scott London’s attorney filed a request to postpone the sentencing hearing for Mr. London from April 21 to April 24.

The reason cited is that Mr. London’s attorney will be out of town on Monday. The filing says the court clerk indicated there is time available in the schedule on Thursday.

The court has not issued the order, but I would assume that it will easily be approved.

So we will wait patiently for a week from Thursday.

Update: 14 months.

Observations from a reader on Scott London’s family assets

A Mr./Ms. sjenson has been commenting on my blog about some family assets belonging to the London family that have apparently been moved into a Nevada corporation.

You can see the current discussion at an older post, Sentencing recommendation and suggestion for lighter sentence for ex-KPMG partner’s insider trading.

The commenter has several thoughts and questions.

The core of his/her idea seems to be wondering why assets would be moved into a Nevada corporation. If you have ever had contact with one of those outfits, you know they operate in a completely different world.

Check out the comments if you are interested.

His or her comments belong to him. Anyone have any thoughts or comments on the comments?  All comments welcome.  Of course, subject to maintaining a professional demeanor with the determination of what is professional being made by me!

Update: 14 months.

Scott London asked for probation for insider trading

Michael Rapoport reports yesterday in the Wall Street Journal on the sentencing filings: U.S. Attorney Asks Judge for Three Year Sentence for Former KPMG Partner.

I discussed this yesterday.

Almost bruised my jaw when it hit the keyboard after reading this sentence:

Harland Braun, Mr. London’s attorney, has requested a sentence of probation for his client, with no jail time.

Probation. Really? Yes.

That paragraph continues with quoting Mr. Braun from an interview on Tuesday.

How did I miss that when reading the government’s probation recommendation?

Sentencing position papers filed with court in Scott London insider trading case

The U.S. Attorney and Scott London both filed their sentencing position papers on April 7. This is in advance of the sentencing, expected this month.

Mr. London will file his sentencing position brief under seal, according to a filing from his attorney. That means we won’t be reading his arguments, as presented in the filing, anytime soon.

The government’s filing mentions there will be a sentencing hearing on April 21, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. That means that as of 4/7, the hearing is still set for 4/21, as previously mentioned in court filings.

The US Attorney is recommending 3 years in prison, 3 years supervised release, and a $100,000 fine. (There’s also a $100 special assessment. I have no idea {yet} what that is for.)

Prison term

KPMG global chairman speaks about insider trading fiasco

John Veihmeyer, U.S. and global chairman of KPMG, addressed the Scott London insider trading mess during a speaking event with the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business on Tuesday evening, March 4.

I found coverage of his discussion in two media outlets:

The Times-Dispatch article has the following comments:

Veihmeyer said he made the decision to fire London on the day — a Friday afternoon — he learned the partner was under federal investigation.

The following Monday, Veihmeyer told the firm’s leadership team not to circle the wagons, but to put out a public announcement about the investigation. KPMG also withdrew as the accounting firm for the two companies that had been compromised.

More consequences of insider trading – #11

Previous post explained Mr. Scott London surrendered his CPA license as a consequence of his guilty plea to insider trading. This discussion will go through the timing of the disciplinary process and outline a few more well-deserved consequences Mr. London has earned.

Update #74, which contains a summary of the action can be found here. The formal disciplinary action can be found here.

Timing

Scott London surrendered his CPA license in December 2013

California Board of Accountancy’s Update #74, sent by email this morning, had the following news:

LONDON, SCOTT IAN

Agoura Hills, CA (CPA 46174)

CBA ACTIONS

Surrender of CPA license, via stipulated settlement.

Mr. London shall pay the CBA its costs of investigation and prosecution in the amount of $1,637.50 prior to issuance of a new or reinstated license.

Effective December 27, 2013

CAUSE FOR DISCIPLINE

The suspense and wait continues – Scott London sentencing for insider trading rescheduled from February 27 to April 21

Since there has been so much traffic today checking out posts about the scheduled date for Scott London’s sentencing for his admitted insider trading (thank you for the mention, Going Concern!), I thought to check the federal document system before turning in for the night.

Guess what I found?

The sentencing has been continued from February 27 to April 21.

Previously mentioned there were four documents filed under seal.

As of yesterday morning, all four entries had a date of 2/18/2014 and said:

SEALED DOCUMENT- Under Seal Document (mat) (Entered: 02/19/2014)

When I looked a few minutes ago, item #45 still had a date of 2/18/2014 but the comment has been changed.  It now reads:

SEALED DOCUMENT- Under Seal Document – Sentencing hearing set for 02/27/14, continued to 04/21/14 at 8:00 a.m. (mat) Modified on 2/24/2014 (jag). (Entered: 02/19/2014)

That means the sentencing which had previously been scheduled for February 27 has now been moved to April 21, 2014.

Everyone who had been looking forward to a generous serving of popcorn and schadenfreude on Thursday will have to wait another 2 months. 

Update:  According to the comments on the docket, sentencing has been continued to the following dates: 10/21/13, 12/9/13, 1/27/14, 2/6/14, 2/27/14, 4/21/14.

Other tidbits: Passport was surrendered on 4/17/13. Turned in $50K on 4/19/13, which is presumably the estimated proceeds of the then-alleged insider trading.

Minor updates on insider trading fiasco at KPMG including more consequences

Since we are all anticipating the expected sentencing on Thursday for Mr. Scott London, regional audit PIC, lately of KPMG, here’s two tidbits I’ve noticed over the last few months but haven’t mentioned previously. Cost of re-auditing Herbalife will drop into the category of earned consequences when KPMG gets around to suing Mr. London. In older news, Mr. London updated his LinkedIn profile.

Sentencing watch for insider trading case

Sentencing is scheduled for former KPMG regional audit PIC Scott London on February 27, 2014 regarding his plea agreement admitting insider trading. That’s the latest visible information in the federal system that shows filings.

Previous post mentioned on 2/13 that Something in London case about to go under seal.

On 2/18 there were four documents filed under seal. Obviously the contents of those filings aren’t visible on the PACER system. My completely wild, uneducated guess would be those are arguments from the defense and prosecution about sentencing. Could also be recommendations from the federal group that provides sentencing guidance to judges.

If you are really interested, keep your eyes open on Thursday. If you are only slightly interested, check back here. I’ll keep you updated.

Update: Next post – minor updates, including LinkedIn profile and cost of reauditing Herbalife

UPDATE on sentencing date here.

Something in London case about to go under seal

Just checking to see if anything new is showing up on a couple of cases I’m following in the federal PACER system.

Sentencing arguments were due to the court on 2/13/14 in the case of Scott London, lately a senior partner at KPMG. He was the regional audit PIC prior to getting his picture on the front page of the Wall Street Journal during an FBI recorded cash-for-inside-information payment.

On 2/13/14, the Assistant US Attorney filed an ex parte motion to place something under seal. The document description is “other” and the reason is “under seal.”  Setting aside my severely limited knowledge of law and using my businessman’s understanding instead, I think that means the documents will be under seal and the reason it will be nonpublic is under seal.

My very wild guess on the contents is based on the filing taking place on the day the sentencing positions were due. My guess? The sealed document is the sentencing argument from the feds.

Your guess?

Updates:

UPDATE on sentencing date here.

Admissions in Scott London’s plea agreement: felony insider trading 14 times

Have you ever read a federal plea agreement for an individual? I’ve read court documents for criminal cases from the county where I live and civil cases at the federal level. This is the first individual criminal case from the federal level. Wow!

I just subscribed to the PACER system, which provide access to public documents in the federal court system. I’m still learning how to ride that bicycle. Looks like it will be quite useful.

One of the first things I looked at is the case of Mr. Scott London, most recently a senior level partner at KPMG, in charge of the southwest regional audit practice. As I’ve mentioned on this blog, he has pled guilty to insider trading.

The plea agreement is amazing. The phrasing is rather harsh and the admissions are exquisitely clear. I’ll share some of the things I noticed in this public document.

Admissions