WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal regulators have accused high-profile hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman and his firm of illegally trading on confidential information he learned from a company executive.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the civil insider-trading charges Wednesday against Cooperman and his firm, Omega Advisors. The SEC also alleged that Cooperman tried to cover up the misconduct. Cooperman, 73, who is well known in Wall Street circles and appears frequently on the CNBC business cable network, is disputing the allegations.
The SEC indicated it was sending a message that well known and wealthy people aren’t exempt from its efforts to pursue insider trading.
The allegations against Cooperman are “entirely baseless,” his attorneys Ted Wells and Dan Kramer said in a statement. “Mr. Cooperman acted appropriately at all times and did nothing wrong. We intend to vigorously defend against the charges and will not allow the SEC to tarnish the legacy Mr. Cooperman has built over the course of a legendary career spanning five decades.”
The SEC said Cooperman profited illegally in July 2010 by buying securities in Atlas Pipeline Partners in advance of the sale of its natural gas processing facility in Oklahoma, using his status as one of the company’s biggest shareholders to get the information from the senior executive. After the announcement of the $682 million sale, Atlas Pipeline shares soared more than 31 percent.