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According to The Post, David A. Schwinger, 50, purchased 10,000 shares of the Dulles company shortly after learning about an impending 2005 merger between Vastera and J.P. Morgan Chase, according to court papers.
Schwinger, the former managing partner of the District office of Katten Muchin Rosenman, did not admit or deny wrongdoing in the settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He agreed to return $13,000 in profit and to pay $26,000 more in penalties, said Robert B. Kaplan, the SEC's assistant enforcement director, reported The Post.
As part of his duties at Katten Muchin, which has 650 lawyers, Schwinger interviewed job candidates. In that capacity, he met with the chief counsel of Vastera, which helps businesses track international shipments, over the course of nine months in 2004, court papers said, according to The Post.
According to paper, Vastera became a client of the law firm, and Schwinger signed a letter setting out the terms of the client relationship in August 2004, the SEC said.
As part of a sales pitch about business opportunities he might generate for Katten Muchin if he were hired, the unidentified chief counsel told Schwinger that Vastera received a merger offer from J.P. Morgan Chase on Oct. 26, 2004.
Less than two weeks later, Schwinger bought Vastera stock at an average price of $1.70 per share. The share price rose by 50 percent, and trading volume peaked at nearly four times the daily average after the deal became public in January 2005, allowing Schwinger to profit by $13,027, according to the SEC complaint, reported The Post.
-New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants
Posted June 15th, 2007 by Alla
