Overview
Law360 quoted Stacie Hartman in an April 5 article titled "Software Exec's Acquittal Could Rein In Spoofing Cases." The article discusses how after a midtrial acquittal, prosecutors are still moving forward with charges that software creator Jitesh Thakkar aided and abetted a UK-based trader's "flash crash" spoofing scheme. US District Judge Robert Gettleman wiped out a conspiracy charge against the programmer, ruling prosecutors didn’t present jurors with any evidence from which they could find a conspiracy between Thakkar and trader Navinder Sarao.
Hartman, who co-chairs Steptoe's financial services practice, says proving those charges will be "a real challenge" for the government because the jury will get to consider the same evidence that brought the conspiracy acquittal.
"Mr. Sarao's testifying that he considered Mr. Thakkar to be knowledgeable about trading and that he could 'put two and two together' seems to fall short of knowing participation and trying to make the spoofing succeed," Hartman tells Law360. "I'm not aware that there's evidence of any communications between Mr. Sarao and Mr. Thakkar about those trades, and I think there's going to be a lack of evidence enough to prove the charge at the end of the day."
The full article can be read at Law360 (subscription required).