The announcement that two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquitted in the collapse of the organization was a major setback for federal prosecutors. Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, who managed two failed mortgage-bond hedge funds, were found not guilty in misleading investors to the tune of $1.4 billion dollars. At the heart of the prosecution’s case were the defendant’s e-mails including one that said the subprime market “looks pretty damn ugly”. What the defendant’s said in their e-mails contradicted what they told their bosses. Jurors later said that the evidence wasn’t strong enough to convict.
It’s unfortunate that the jurors didn’t see what was really going on here. The defendant’s were clearly involved in wrong-doings, which ended up leading to the demise of Bear Stearns. The tone in their e-mails compared to their public point of view painted a picture of fraud, deceit and intent. E-mailed words as evidence have won convictions in the last decade and they should have in this case. While the interpretation of e-mail text is open for some interpretation, so are wiretaps. Whether you type a comment or say one on a phone, there is always a gray area on what the defendant is trying to communicate. We still use wiretaps today to convict people and we should be using e-mails as well. Why do you think corporations have an entire strategy in managing internal e-mails? They want to limit their liability. Since this case was the only major criminal case to emerge from the mortgage meltdown, the jurors had a real opportunity to send a message to the Wall Street that fraud will not be tolerated. This verdict now opens the door for those who want to continue to make money at the expense of others. How many more victims will there be before we take a tougher approach?
It’s unfortunate that the jurors didn’t see what was really going on here. The defendant’s were clearly involved in wrong-doings, which ended up leading to the demise of Bear Stearns. The tone in their e-mails compared to their public point of view painted a picture of fraud, deceit and intent. E-mailed words as evidence have won convictions in the last decade and they should have in this case. While the interpretation of e-mail text is open for some interpretation, so are wiretaps. Whether you type a comment or say one on a phone, there is always a gray area on what the defendant is trying to communicate. We still use wiretaps today to convict people and we should be using e-mails as well. Why do you think corporations have an entire strategy in managing internal e-mails? They want to limit their liability. Since this case was the only major criminal case to emerge from the mortgage meltdown, the jurors had a real opportunity to send a message to the Wall Street that fraud will not be tolerated. This verdict now opens the door for those who want to continue to make money at the expense of others. How many more victims will there be before we take a tougher approach?
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