SEC Charges Wyly Brothers with Fraud

[Joanne98]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Sam and Charles Wyly, two politically powerful brothers and major GOP donors, with $550 million in insider trading and securities fraud.

The S.E.C. case, which was filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, centers on charges of securities fraud and insider trading related to the shares of companies founded by the Wyly bothers or where they served as directors or executives. They include the retail craft chain Michaels Stores, Sterling Software, Sterling Commerce and Scottish Annuity and Life Holdings.

The ill-gotten gains, according to the S.E.C., were used to buy tens of millions of dollars of art, collectibles and jewelry; $100 million of real estate, including two ranches in Aspen, Colo., and a 100-acre horse farm near Dallas; and for charitable contributions, including $10 million to the business school at Samuel Wyly’s alma mater, the University of Michigan.

The charges are the result of a six-year investigation that began in 2004 when Bank of America reported to the S.E.C. that it had terminated numerous accounts held in the name of companies based in the Isle of Man because it could not determine who actually owned the companies

http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/07/30/sec-charges-wyly-brothers-with-fraud