Elite corporate lawyers accused of earning millions on insider trading, using bizarre code like, 'How's the rabbi?'
New York Post • • business
Key Points:
- A group of elite corporate lawyers, including former Goodwin and Latham attorney Nicolo Nourafchan, were indicted for insider trading using coded language to conceal trades on major mergers over a decade, generating tens of millions in illicit profits.
- The ring exploited confidential law-firm databases to access nonpublic information on at least two dozen deals, involving companies like Anadarko Petroleum, Care.com, iRobot, Qualcomm, and Tim Hortons.
- Prosecutors revealed the use of elaborate code words such as “rabbi” for mergers and “flights” for takeovers, with insiders communicating through encrypted messages and burner phones to evade detection.
- The scheme involved 30 defendants across multiple states and countries, with some fugitives in Russia and Israel, and utilized offshore accounts, shell companies, and disguised kickbacks to launder money.
- Law firms implicated, including Wachtell Lipton, Goodwin, and Latham, have cooperated with authorities, emphasizing that the alleged misconduct was by former employees and not the firms themselves.
