Rogue trader gets 2½ years for BILLION-dollar Apple share plot A rogue trader has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his scheme to profit from an unauthorised purchase of a billion dollars of Apple stock. The doomed plan – which eventually led to David Miller's employers being forced to put their biz up for a merger or fresh investment – was to buy millions of Apple shares on 25 …
"Why did they trade out of that position? They could have kept the stock until the price went back up...surely a better bet than the alternative that they chose, effectively ending the business."
The longer the fraudster held onto the trades the greater the chance that the account holder would find out. As it happens they didn't account for the fact that the account holder could not continue to trade. Just think of all those retirement funds that get thrown around by the very same jokers...
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Having been in the finance industry for >20 years it still continues to surprise me how much these individual are willing to lose, just to make a quick buck.
He now has a criminal record - for fraud.
He is no longer employable in the securities industry - ever.
He is unlikely to get an office job - ever.
Going to prison, he will either get gang-bashed or gang-raped - the choice is his. I have numerous friends who are criminal law solicitors and they all tell me this is exactly what happens in prison.
Was it really worth it?
I completely agree.
In 15 years in the financial industry I've learned something (among other things;-). If there appears to be a possibility of making some quick dosh, no matter how small this may be, there is at least someone stupid enough to risk his (not always but mostly "his") career for it. Chasing fraudsters is not just a hobby of mine ;-)
How many times has this happened before? Lehmans & all the rest of them - and Merriweather & Co before (LTCM - the C should stand for Crappy..). still the money monumentally untalented ex journalists make from selling books about it should balance out the net economic loss...
The problem is simple - and complicated. If we don't want these kind of problems have computers trading, but if we want the (pseudo) profitability we need the humans in the picture. Incidentally if this had all worked as planned there would probably have been a seat on the board waiting... as it is he'll get his leaving bonus (assuming no 'criminal activity/conviction clauses).
.. And, its gone.. ('it' being something best not thought about - I'm not talking about money.. )
-or-
Does my bum look vulnerable in this...?
Well I'm sure he can come back to a job in a nice warm office on the Iberian peninsula somewhere with lot's of phone lines and the numbers of UK "Investors" just dying to hear about a " 20% return guarenteed; you must be it now offer "
The only difference between those guys and him is, Oh hang on there is no difference,,
He's not going to get gang-bashed or gang-raped in the minimum security white collar prison he'll be going to.
If they put him in a real prison with the same criminals that are doing 10-25 years for holding up a bank teller with a gun and making off with a measly $5000, then he'd be at risk for that.
Caught this time but ...what would have happened if the trade had gone well? Sure, this one went south big time but if the ploy had worked we'd never have heard about it. It's time to bring back the old fashioned stocks - put a set outside every financial institution and lock these criminals in the stocks outside their offices for all to see. Then we might see some moral backbone in the financial industry.
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