New Use of Wiretaps in Insider Trading Cases

In the January issue of LJN's Business Crimes Bulletin, White Collar partner Stanley Twardy Jr. and counsel Doreen Klein look at how the Department of Justice used wiretaps to uncover alleged insider trading at hedge fund Galleon Group, marking "the first time the court-authorized wiretaps have been used to target significant insider trading on Wall Street," according to Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Twenty defendants have been arrested so far, including Galleon's founder Raj Rajaratnam. Others include lawyers, stock brokers and executives inside the issuers themselves.

Twardy and Klein conclude that the case is likely to portend the increased use of wiretaps in white collar cases despite raising practical issues that could benefit the defense. For one, telephone talk by traders is open to misinterpretation and likely to be contested before the fact finder. Also, the transcripts are discoverable in the parallel civil proceedings, allowing defendants to learn details of the government's case. What is certain is that prosecutors and white collar defense lawyers will be watching the case closely.