SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 16359 / November 17, 1999
TWO SOUTH FLORIDA ATTORNEYS AGREE TO PAY $130,000 IN DISGORGEMENT AND PENALTIES TO SETTLE SEC'S INSIDER TRADING SUIT
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Daniel Lambert, John Pape, et al., Civil Action No. 98-2280-CIV-KING (S. D. Fla., Miami Div.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on November 5, 1999, Defendants Daniel Lambert (Lambert), a lawyer from the Fort Lauderdale area, and John Pape (Pape), a Miami area attorney, were enjoined by consent from further violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The District Court ordered Lambert to pay a civil penalty of $67,707 and more than $12,000 in disgorgement. The Court ordered Pape to pay the remaining $55,220 disgorgement amount, but did not impose against Pape a civil penalty based upon his sworn financial affidavit which he submitted to the SEC.
The injunction followed an insider trading action filed by the Commission on September 30, 1998, alleging that Lambert and Pape violated the federal securities laws by trading on inside information regarding the announced merger of two Fort Lauderdale-based corporations in the business of developing, marketing and operating vacation time shares, Vacation Break U.S.A. and The Berkley Group, Inc. In its complaint, the SEC alleged that Lambert negotiated the proposed Vacation Break/Berkley Group merger on behalf of the Berkley Group and other related companies. The SEC further alleged that beginning in October 1996, Lambert communicated to his friend and then law partner, Pape, inside information regarding the merger discussions and then gave Pape more than $70,000 to purchase stock in Vacation Break before the merger announcement. After the merger was announced the price of Vacation Break stock rose 56%.