SEC Said to Name Federal Prosecutor Martens Chief Litigator of U.S. Agency
The Securities and Exchange Commission named a U.S. prosecutor its top litigator as the agency prepares for legal fights with billionaire Raj Rajaratnam and Countrywide Financial Corp. co-founder Angelo Mozilo.
Matthew Martens, an assistant U.S. attorney in North Carolina, agreed to be chief litigation counsel, said two people familiar with the matter who declined to be indentified before the SEC’s announcement. Martens will replace Luis Mejia, who stepped down in December to join the law firm DLA Piper.
The SEC’s chief litigator oversees lawyers who argue cases that go to trial. Rajaratnam is fighting allegations that his hedge fund Galleon Group engaged in insider trading. Among other pending SEC cases is an insider-trading lawsuit against Mozilo and claims filed yesterday accusing billionaire brothers Samuel Wyly and Charles Wyly of securities fraud.
Martens was part of a team of government lawyers who reached a $50 million settlement in 2009 with Beazer Homes USA Inc. over allegations that the Atlanta-based company committed mortgage fraud.
SEC spokesman John Nester declined to comment. A phone message left for Martens at his office wasn’t immediately returned.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Westbrook in Washington at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net.
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