New York – April 25, 2018 – A team of White Collar Defense & Special Investigations attorneys at global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP today secured an acquittal in a criminal conspiracy trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut alleging manipulation of commodity prices through spoofing. Marc L. Mukasey, co-chair of Greenberg Traurig’s White Collar Defense and Special Investigations Practice and Shareholder Nathan J. Muyskens led the trial team.
In the case, styled U.S. v. Flotron, 3:17-cr-00220 before The Honorable Jeffrey Alker Meyer, the jury found former UBS AG trader Andre Flotron not guilty on the charge of conspiring to commit commodities fraud by manipulating prices of futures contracts for gold, silver, and metals using trick orders – also known as spoofing.
In the trial’s closing arguments Mukasey argued the government’s case was a “prosecution by statistics,” that there was no collaboration needed to sustain a conspiracy charge, and that the government failed to present a single document where Flotron had agreed to spoof. He also urged jurors to discount the government’s two cooperating witnesses.
The trial, which began on April 16, 2018, was only the second ever in the U.S. involving criminal spoofing allegations. This is the first ever acquittal in such cases. The client faced up to 25 years if convicted.
“In a case about trading gold, we got the most precious verdict,” Mukasey said.
This was the second win for the client in 2018. In February, Judge Meyer threw out three spoofing and three commodities fraud counts against Flotron, ruling they were brought in the wrong venue, leaving just the conspiracy count at trial.
In addition to Mukasey and Muyskens, the trial team included Greenberg Traurig Shareholders Daniel P. Filor and Robert S. Frenchman, and Associates Kedar S. Bhatia, Daniel E. Clarkson, Kate E. Olivieri, and Sarah M. Mathews.
About Greenberg Traurig’s White Collar Defense & Special Investigations Practice
Greenberg Traurig’s White Collar Defense & Special Investigations Practice has wide-ranging experience protecting companies and individuals under government scrutiny. The firm’s creative defense lawyers are at the forefront of client service in this area, and Greenberg Traurig is one of very few firms with more than 90 former federal and state prosecutors in its litigation group, and where the majority of litigation shareholders and counsel have first-chair trial experience. The team's defense capabilities includes vast experience in structuring internal investigations, developing guidelines and implementing compliance programs and addressing issues of voluntary disclosure, as well as extensive representations involving alleged securities fraud, FCPA violations, health care/pharmaceutical fraud, environmental crimes, money laundering, financial services fraud, public corruption/campaign finance, tax corruption, defense contracting, and bankruptcy fraud.
About Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.