Former Jefferies Trader Wins Reversal of Fraud Conviction
- Appeals court decision could put brakes on U.S. crackdown
- Reversal threatens cases involving traders at RBS, Nomura
Jesse Litvak, a former managing director at Jefferies & Co., exits federal court in New Haven, Connecticut, on Feb. 18, 2014.
Photographer: Douglas Healey/BloombergA former Jefferies & Co. managing director accused of lying to customers about bond prices had his conviction overturned, setting back government efforts to hold individuals accountable for alleged wrongdoing on Wall Street.
In a ruling that will shape how the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission pursue several similar cases already in the pipeline, a federal appeals court threw out Jesse Litvak’s March 2014 conviction for defrauding the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program and making false statements to the government. Prosecutors will retry charges of lying to buyers and sellers of mortgage-backed securities.