Litigation Release No. 17307 / January 14, 2002
Securities and Exchange Commission v. David Drescher, Civil Action No. 99 Civ. 1418 (S.D.N.Y.) (VM)
FINAL JUDGMENT ENTERED AGAINST FORMER
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS MANAGER IN INSIDER TRADING CASE
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that on December 28, 2001, the Honorable Victor Marrero of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a Final Judgment against David Drescher, the last remaining defendant in this insider trading case. Mr. Drescher consented to the Final Judgment without admitting or denying the allegations of the Commission's Complaint. The Final Judgment orders Mr. Drescher to pay a civil penalty of $15,959.16. Following an evidentiary hearing held on December 17 and 18, 2001, Judge Marrero declined to enjoin Mr. Drescher from future violations of the securities laws.
The Commission's Complaint in the case charged that Mr. Drescher, a former manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers' New York office, provided material, nonpublic information to two Swedish friends about the upcoming acquisition of Pinkerton's, Inc., a California based company specializing in security services and products, by Securitas AB. The Commission's Complaint alleged that at the time of his communications with his Swedish friends, Per Isacsson and Johan Schelin, Mr. Drescher was working on the PricewaterhouseCoopers team advising Securitas, a Swedish security services firm, in connection with the deal.
In September 1999, the SEC settled its charges against Mr. Drescher's friends, Per Isacsson and Johan Schelin, and three other Swedish citizens tipped directly or indirectly by Mr. Isacsson. In those earlier settlements, the Swedish trading defendants were ordered to disgorge all of their trading profits and to pay civil penalties. The civil penalty of $15,959.16 to be paid by Mr. Drescher is equal to the amount of profits previously disgorged by Mr. Isacsson and Mr. Schelin, Mr. Drescher's alleged tippees.
Related releases: Litigation Release No. 16311 dated 9/28/99; Litigation Release No. 16188 dated 6/15/99; Litigation Release No. 16070 dated 2/25/99.