LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
COO Insider Trading
San Francisco, CA: (Jan-22-08) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought charges against the founder of Silicon Valley communications chip maker Saiyed Atiq Raza, a former president and chief operating officer of chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), over trades he made in 2006 while serving as a director of San Francisco orthodontic device maker OrthoClear Holdings Inc. The suit stated that Raza engaged in insider trading.
The SEC alleged that Raza in September 2006 was informed by OrthoClear's CEO that the company had agreed to cease competing with rival Align Technology Inc. (ALGN), of Santa Clara. The agreement, which effectively put OrthoClear out of business, followed a long-running intellectual property rights dispute between the transparent teeth-aligner market competitors. Raza, within two days of learning about the settlement, began making large purchases of Align call options, which would increase in value if the company's share price rose before the litigation settlement agreement became public.
As part of a settlement reached, Raza agreed to pay nearly $3 million to resolve allegations. SEC officials stated that Raza did not admit nor deny allegations that he unlawfully netted nearly $1.5 million by trading on confidential company information. Raza was also barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years, and he was permanently enjoined from future violations of the federal securities laws. [CNN NEWS: INSIDER TRADING]
Published on Jan-23-08
The SEC alleged that Raza in September 2006 was informed by OrthoClear's CEO that the company had agreed to cease competing with rival Align Technology Inc. (ALGN), of Santa Clara. The agreement, which effectively put OrthoClear out of business, followed a long-running intellectual property rights dispute between the transparent teeth-aligner market competitors. Raza, within two days of learning about the settlement, began making large purchases of Align call options, which would increase in value if the company's share price rose before the litigation settlement agreement became public.
As part of a settlement reached, Raza agreed to pay nearly $3 million to resolve allegations. SEC officials stated that Raza did not admit nor deny allegations that he unlawfully netted nearly $1.5 million by trading on confidential company information. Raza was also barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years, and he was permanently enjoined from future violations of the federal securities laws. [
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