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Insider Trading Case Against Former Enron Exec Finally Ends at 5th Circuit
The American Lawyer
October 22, 2009
Ropes & Gray partner Samuel Buffone can finally cash in his return ticket to Houston: On Monday, after the U.S. Supreme Court bounced the government's second attempt at a money laundering and insider trading case against Buffone's client, former Enron broadband executive F. Scott Yeager, back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the appellate court ruled that there will be no retrial of criminal charges against Yeager.
The Yeager case has done great things for Buffone's win-loss record. At trial in 2005, a Houston federal district court jury acquitted the former Enron exec of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy, but hung on charges of money laundering and insider trading. After Yeager was reindicted on those counts, Buffone made a double jeopardy argument at the 5th Circuit, asserting that the jury's verdict on the fraud counts meant the government's other charges could not stand. Buffone lost the appeal, but then took Yeager's case to the Supreme Court, where, as we've previously reported, he won.
Well, sort of. Although the Supreme Court agreed with Buffone's double jeopardy reasoning, it sent the case back to the 5th Circuit for a reconsideration of the appellate court's factual findings about Yeager's possession of insider information. In its ruling, the appellate court declined to do so.
"It is clear under our initial ... analysis," the 5th Circuit opinion says, "[that] the jury made a finding in acquitting Yeager that precludes prosecution on insider trading and money laundering [charges]."
For Yeager and Buffone, that means the case is finally over. "My client used to say: 'How many times do we have to win?'" Buffone said.
Now he knows.
This article first appeared on The Am Law Daily blog on AmericanLawyer.com.
