SEC Files Further Charges Against Prudential

The SEC has compiled more information to press a case that was dismissed in November against five former Prudential Securities brokers and their manager
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against five brokers who were previously employed at Prudential Securities for allegedly using false identities to rack up more than $1.3 billion through illegal market-timing schemes, the Associated Press reports.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, provides new details about the case that were not revealed when the SEC charged the same individuals with fraud in November. The previous complaint was thrown out of court because the SEC lacked sufficient evidence, but regulators at the time vowed to file an amended complaint at a later date.
The latest charges accuse the brokers and their supervisor, who stepped down last year, of intentionally establishing accounts with phony names and broker identification information as a means of sidestepping compliance guidelines.
The SEC maintains that the brokers placed thousands of overnight trades between 2001 and 2003 in dozens of mutual fund families on behalf of several hedge fund investors. Several large mutual fund providers were swindled during the episode. The brokers managed to drum up $166 million in short-term trades from AIM Investments and $87.3 million from Franklin Templeton Investments. Altogether, the brokers pocketed more than $5 million in commissions from their rapid-trading scheme, according to the SEC.
The brokers named in the latest complaint are Justin Ficken, Skifter Ajro, John Peffer, Marc Bilotti, Martin Druffner and their manager, Robert E. Shannon.

__