Ex-Day Trader Bouchareb Gets 30 Months in Insider Case

Former day trader Jamil Bouchareb was sentenced to 30 months in prison for trading on stock tips gleaned from the wife of a former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) salesman.

Bouchareb’s partner, Daniel Corbin, was sentenced to six months immediately after U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero imposed Bouchareb’s sentence today in federal court in Manhattan.

Bouchareb and Corbin were indicted in December 2008 on charges they made illegal trades based on confidential tips from the wife of Matthew Devlin, the former Lehman salesman. Devlin’s wife, Nina Devlin, at the time was a Brunswick Group public- relations executive who was involved with corporate deals. Nina Devlin wasn’t charged with wrongdoing.

Bouchareb pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud in May 2009, agreeing to forfeit $1.58 million.

“I made a stupid mistake,” Bouchareb told Marrero at today’s hearing. “If you could allow me a second chance, I’d appreciate it.”

Provided Gifts

Prosecutors claimed there was a long-running insider- trading agreement between Matthew Devlin and Bouchareb. In his guilty plea, Bouchareb said Devlin told him that his wife would divorce him if she knew he was passing along the tips. He said that, “after a certain time,” he assumed the information was secret and wasn’t meant to be traded on.

“We provided gifts to Mr. Devlin,” Bouchareb said in his guilty plea hearing. “We would go to dinners or a Porsche- driving school.”

Devlin admitted to his role in the scheme in December 2008 and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, according to a court document. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 2, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Ingoglia told Marrero that deterring future insider trading was an important element when sentencing defendants.

“They have to have that voice go off that says, ‘I could ruin my life by doing this,’” he said.

Corbin’s attorney Ronald Gainor described his client as playing a “minimal role” in the scheme.

“I truly am sorry for everything that has happened here,” Corbin said before he was sentenced.

The case is U.S. v. Bouchareb, 08-mj-2777, U.S. District Judge, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story: David McLaughlin in U.S. District Court in New York at dmclaughlin@bloomberg.net; Bob Van Voris in U.S. District Court in New York at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.