2022-12-20 sec-litreleases litigation_release 66 KB 2,509 chars

SEC v. Lawrence Billimek; and Alan Williams, No. LR-25595, Southern District of New York (Dec. 20, 2022) — Press Release

raw: Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams

Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams, No. 1:22-cv-10542 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 20, 2022)

Caption
United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Billimek
summary

The SEC charged Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams for a multi-year front-running scheme that generated at least $47 million in illegal profits.

paragraph

The SEC filed fraud charges against Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams for orchestrating a scheme that generated over $47 million in illegal trading profits. The complaint alleges the pair violated the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940. In addition to the SEC's civil action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has brought parallel criminal charges.

narrative

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Lawrence Billimek, an employee of a major asset management firm, and Alan Williams for a multi-year front-running scheme. Since at least September 2016, Billimek allegedly informed Williams of market-moving trades before they were executed by his employer. This allowed Williams to trade in the same securities ahead of the firm's large orders, generating at least $47 million in illegal profits. The SEC's investigation utilized the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) database to uncover the fraudulent activity. The defendants face charges for violations of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940. Parallel criminal charges have also been brought against both individuals by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
market-manipulation (99%)
Court
Southern District of New York
Case No.
1:22-cv-10542
Victim loss
$47,000,000
Entity
Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams
Classified market-manipulation(confidence 99%). EDGAR detection: forms SC 13D/G/13F· recall 53% / precision 9%. detection rule →
Statutes
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange ActSection 17(j) of the Investment Company ActRule 10b-5
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionLawrence BillimekAlan Williams
Keywords
williamsbillimeklawrence billimekalan williamssecuritiesbillimek alanfront-running schemesecurities exchangesec'slawrencealansecfront-runningdecember securitiesexchange commission

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 2
  • $47.00M $47 Million $10M–$100M
  • $47.00M $47 million $10M–$100M
Entities 8
  • person alan williams
  • person lawrence billimek
  • agency sec investigation
  • agency sec litigation
  • agency sec staff
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • person terry miller
  • agency U.S. Attorney's Office For The Southern District Of New York
Triples 13
  • Securities And Exchange Commission announced fraud charges Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams on December 14, 2022
  • Lawrence Billimek employed by major asset management firm with securities portfolios worth billions of dollars
  • Alan Williams previously worked at several financial industry firms
  • Lawrence Billimek informed Alan Williams of asset management firm's market‑moving trades prior to execution
  • Alan Williams traded same securities prior to Billimek's employer
  • Alan Williams closed his positions after price moved as expected
  • Front‑running scheme generated more than $47 million in illegal trading profits
  • SEC staff analyzed trading using Consolidated Audit Trail database to uncover fraudulent trading
  • U.S. Attorney's Office For The Southern District Of New York announced criminal charges Billimek and Williams
  • SEC charged Billimek with violating Section 17(j) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
  • Market Abuse Unit members David Bennett, John Rymas, Jeffrey Oraker, and Frank Goldman conducted SEC investigation
  • Terry Miller will lead SEC litigation
  • SEC appreciates assistance U.S. Attorney's Office For The Southern District Of New York and Federal Bureau Of Investigation
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,509c)
SEC Charges Financial Services Professional and Associate in $47 Million Front-Running Scheme Litigation Release No. 25595 / December 20, 2022 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams, No. 1:22-cv-10542 (S.D.N.Y filed December 14, 2022) On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges against Lawrence Billimek, an employee of a major asset management firm with securities portfolios worth billions of dollars, and Alan Williams, who previously worked at several financial industry firms, for perpetrating a multi-year front-running scheme that generated at least $47 million in illegal trading profits. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that, since at least September 2016, Billimek would inform Williams of the asset management firm's market-moving trades prior to their execution. As the complaint alleges, on the same day, Williams would trade in the same securities prior to Billimek's employer or while multiple large orders were being placed by the employer. Williams would close his positions after the price of the security moved as expected. This alleged front-running scheme resulted in proceeds of more than $47 million. The SEC staff analyzed trading using the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) database to uncover William's allegedly fraudulent trading and to identify how he profited by repeatedly front-running large trades by Billimek's employer. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Billimek and Williams. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. It also charges Billimek with violating Section 17(j) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and Rules 17j-1(b)(1) and (3) thereunder. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Market Abuse Unit members David Bennett, John Rymas, Jeffrey Oraker, and Frank Goldman with assistance from Darren Boerner and John Marino of the Market Abuse Unit's Analysis and Detection Center and Judy Tran, Donald Hong, and Frank A. Brown II of the SEC's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The case was supervised by Danielle Voorhees and Joseph G. Sansone. The SEC's litigation will be led by Terry Miller of the SEC's Denver Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,509c · html-text · 99% conf)
SEC Charges Financial Services Professional and Associate in $47 Million Front-Running Scheme Litigation Release No. 25595 / December 20, 2022 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Lawrence Billimek and Alan Williams, No. 1:22-cv-10542 (S.D.N.Y filed December 14, 2022) On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges against Lawrence Billimek, an employee of a major asset management firm with securities portfolios worth billions of dollars, and Alan Williams, who previously worked at several financial industry firms, for perpetrating a multi-year front-running scheme that generated at least $47 million in illegal trading profits. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, alleges that, since at least September 2016, Billimek would inform Williams of the asset management firm's market-moving trades prior to their execution. As the complaint alleges, on the same day, Williams would trade in the same securities prior to Billimek's employer or while multiple large orders were being placed by the employer. Williams would close his positions after the price of the security moved as expected. This alleged front-running scheme resulted in proceeds of more than $47 million. The SEC staff analyzed trading using the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) database to uncover William's allegedly fraudulent trading and to identify how he profited by repeatedly front-running large trades by Billimek's employer. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Billimek and Williams. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. It also charges Billimek with violating Section 17(j) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and Rules 17j-1(b)(1) and (3) thereunder. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Market Abuse Unit members David Bennett, John Rymas, Jeffrey Oraker, and Frank Goldman with assistance from Darren Boerner and John Marino of the Market Abuse Unit's Analysis and Detection Center and Judy Tran, Donald Hong, and Frank A. Brown II of the SEC's Division of Economic and Risk Analysis. The case was supervised by Danielle Voorhees and Joseph G. Sansone. The SEC's litigation will be led by Terry Miller of the SEC's Denver Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. SEC Complaint