Business

Tenth SAC exec admits to insider trading

Another analyst at Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors has admitted to insider trading — the tenth person from the notorious hedge fund to be caught in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decade-long probe.

Former SAC tech analyst Ronald Dennis agreed Thursday to be barred from the securities industry and pay more than $200,000 in fines to settle a civil charge of insider trading from the SEC. No criminal charges have been filed.

Dennis was part of the group of hedge fund analysts who traded inside tips and provided them to their bosses, who were the portfolio managers who made the trades.

The SEC said Dennis received tips about tech company Dell from Jesse Tortora, then an analyst at Diamondback Capital. Tortora pled guilty and was a key government witness at the recent criminal trial of senior SAC exec Michael Steinberg, who was convicted of insider trading in December.

In a hint that more charges may be forthcoming, the SEC said Dennis fed Dell tips to two unnamed portfolio managers at SAC, which made $3.8 million in profits and loss avoidance as a result. A third unnamed portfolio manager was also dragged into the scheme, the SEC charged.

Dennis worked for SAC unit CR Intrinsic, which has pled guilty to criminal charges of insider trading.

Recently convicted Mathew Martoma also worked at CR Intrinsic, but his crimes involved drug companies.

“Like several others before him at SAC and its affiliates, Dennis violated the insider trader laws when he exploited confidential information about public companies,” said Sanjay Wadha, of the SEC’s New York office.

The SEC said its investigation is ongoing.