Cioffi and Tannin Criminal Trial Set for October 13th

The Bear Stearns High Grade Funds blew up in the early summer of 2007, precipitating the the credit crisis around the world. On October 13, 2009, in federal court in Brooklyn, NY, Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, the portfolio managers of the High Grade Funds, will be facing criminal trial on fraud and conspiracy charges. Cioffi has also been charged with insider trading. This is the first major criminal trial stemming from the subprime mortgage era. It will be closely watched around the world. The U.S. Attorneys’ Office of the Eastern District of New York recently won a huge trial against former Credit Suisse broker Eric Butler who was convicted of fraudulently selling millions of dollars of auction rate securities. The Brooklyn jury convicted Butler of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and he faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. A major battle is being fought over whether the prosecutors can introduce evidence that a Tablet PC and a notebook of Cioffi and Tannin disappeared and about Cioffi’s lavish lifestyle.