Eugene Plotkin
Encyclopedia
Eugene Plotkin, formerly a research analyst at Goldman Sachs
, was convicted of insider trading, and sentenced on January 4, 2008 to 57 months in jail. He was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and to forfeit up to $6.7 million, the amount of the scheme's illegal profits. Plotkin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and eight counts of insider trading
.
. He lived in Fleming House as a freshman. After receiving a glowing recommendation from Caltech economics professor Scott Page, he transferred to Harvard University
at the beginning of his sophomore year, living in Lowell House
and concentrating in economics. Plotkin became heavily involved in ballroom dancing, a hobby which he continued as a fixed income analyst for Goldman Sachs in New York City. In 2003, he directed and starred in a low-budget indie
film, One Way. In the movie, Plotkin plays a successful Wall Street banker who is framed for theft.
Sonja Anticevic, a 63 year old retired tailor from Omiš
, Croatia
who was living on a pension of about $263 a month and occasionally worked as a cleaning lady, was at first accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of buying $130,000 of Reebok
call options in the 2 days before Reebok was taken over by Adidas-Salomon AG. She told the Associated Press that she "never bought a stock and I have no idea how that works." 8,675 Reebok options were traded on those two days, more than 50 times the usual amount. The SEC investigation was prompted by the timing of the unusual volume.
As alleged in the complaint, in one scheme, Plotkin and Pajcin persuaded a mergers and acquisitions
analyst at Merrill Lynch
to provide tips on upcoming mergers in return for a share of the trading profits. In another scheme, Plotkin and Pajcin recruited two individuals to obtain jobs at a printing plant in Wisconsin, steal advance copies of Business Week magazine and tip Plotkin and Pajcin on the names of companies discussed favorably in the “Inside Wall Street” column before the magazine became public. A grand juror allegedly passed illegal tips in another part of the scam.
Plotkin and Pajcin traded on the inside information, initially in an account in Pajcin’s name and later, in accounts in the names of others in Europe and the United States. Plotkin and Pajcin also tipped several individuals in the United States and Europe in return for a share of their trading profits. In total, Plotkin and Pajcin traded in at least 25 stocks within one year based on inside information obtained through these schemes.
Plotkin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and eight counts of insider trading. Most of the profits have been secured by federal authorities who froze bank accounts when the fraud was discovered.
David Pajcin, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst has pleaded guilty to charges in the case and is cooperating with the government.
Plotkin introduced Pajcin to his college friend Stanislav Shpigelman in 2004 at a Russian day spa and sauna in lower Manhattan. Shpigelman worked as an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co.'s mergers-and-acquisitions division. Shpigelman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit insider trading and was sentenced last year to more than three years in prison.
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, was convicted of insider trading, and sentenced on January 4, 2008 to 57 months in jail. He was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and to forfeit up to $6.7 million, the amount of the scheme's illegal profits. Plotkin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and eight counts of insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
.
Background
Plotkin is a Russian immigrant to United States. He attended Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, California, and then matriculated at the California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
. He lived in Fleming House as a freshman. After receiving a glowing recommendation from Caltech economics professor Scott Page, he transferred to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
at the beginning of his sophomore year, living in Lowell House
Lowell House
Lowell House is one of the twelve undergraduate residential houses within Harvard College, located on Holyoke Place facing Mount Auburn Street between the Harvard Yard and the Charles River...
and concentrating in economics. Plotkin became heavily involved in ballroom dancing, a hobby which he continued as a fixed income analyst for Goldman Sachs in New York City. In 2003, he directed and starred in a low-budget indie
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
film, One Way. In the movie, Plotkin plays a successful Wall Street banker who is framed for theft.
Insider trading
Plotkin worked with David Pajcin, a former employee of Goldman Sachs, who has cooperated with the prosecution. The prosecution began after regulators noticed unusually high trading volume before a merger announcement and discovered that Pajcin's aunt had made more than $2 million.Sonja Anticevic, a 63 year old retired tailor from Omiš
Omiš
Omiš is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is where the emerald-green Cetina River meets the Adriatic Sea...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
who was living on a pension of about $263 a month and occasionally worked as a cleaning lady, was at first accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of buying $130,000 of Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
call options in the 2 days before Reebok was taken over by Adidas-Salomon AG. She told the Associated Press that she "never bought a stock and I have no idea how that works." 8,675 Reebok options were traded on those two days, more than 50 times the usual amount. The SEC investigation was prompted by the timing of the unusual volume.
As alleged in the complaint, in one scheme, Plotkin and Pajcin persuaded a mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
analyst at Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
to provide tips on upcoming mergers in return for a share of the trading profits. In another scheme, Plotkin and Pajcin recruited two individuals to obtain jobs at a printing plant in Wisconsin, steal advance copies of Business Week magazine and tip Plotkin and Pajcin on the names of companies discussed favorably in the “Inside Wall Street” column before the magazine became public. A grand juror allegedly passed illegal tips in another part of the scam.
Plotkin and Pajcin traded on the inside information, initially in an account in Pajcin’s name and later, in accounts in the names of others in Europe and the United States. Plotkin and Pajcin also tipped several individuals in the United States and Europe in return for a share of their trading profits. In total, Plotkin and Pajcin traded in at least 25 stocks within one year based on inside information obtained through these schemes.
Plotkin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and eight counts of insider trading. Most of the profits have been secured by federal authorities who froze bank accounts when the fraud was discovered.
David Pajcin, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst has pleaded guilty to charges in the case and is cooperating with the government.
Plotkin introduced Pajcin to his college friend Stanislav Shpigelman in 2004 at a Russian day spa and sauna in lower Manhattan. Shpigelman worked as an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co.'s mergers-and-acquisitions division. Shpigelman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit insider trading and was sentenced last year to more than three years in prison.
External links
- New York Times
- BBC
- New York Magazinehttp://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/01/the_dance_ends_for_eugene_plot.html, White Men with Money, The Dance Ends for Eugene.
- http://www.cnbc.com/id/27087339 American Greed Episode 22:A Scam Exposed: Strippers and Inside Trading