MANHATTAN (CN) - A 33-year-old attorney faces up to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to securities fraud on Thursday. The SEC added civil charges against Brien Santarlas, in a wide-ranging prosecution against Wall Street stock- and hedge-fund traders.
Santarlas, of Hoboken, N.J., conspired to steal inside information about mergers and acquisitions, in violation of his promises to his then-employer, the Ropes & Gray law firm, federal prosecutors said.
"The charges against Santarlas arose out of an ongoing investigation of insider trading at hedge funds and stock trading firms which has already led to charges against 20 Wall Street professionals, five of whom have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the government," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement announcing the guilty plea.
The SEC claims Santarlas and a co-conspirator made $20 million from their inside trading. The alleged co-conspirator, Arthur Cutillo, worked with Santarlas in Ropes & Gray's New York office, the SEC said. Cutillo was charged with inside trading in Novembers, along with eight others.
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