Will Anyone at SAC Capital Face Criminal Charges?

Discovering that the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering filing a civil fraud suit against his firm was probably not how Steve Cohen wanted to spend last week, but it happened. If that’s all he’s facing, he may well be relieved. SEC charges can often be resolved through a fine. If the Department of Justice gets involved, the stakes are much higher. The matter of whether the U.S. Attorney is intending to file criminal charges against Cohen or his firm is one of the biggest questions in the case.

The SEC and the DOJ investigate cases separately, although the two will often share information, according to legal experts. But the information flow isn’t necessarily both ways. In some cases, the SEC may not know what the DOJ is planning, or what kind of information, including wiretaps, it has. The DOJ has much more powerful tools at its disposal, including recorded conversations, confidential informants, and undercover agents. All the dogged-yet-underappreciated SEC can do is subpoena documents and conduct interviews.