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Business Associations Keyed to Epstein, 5th Ed.
Dirks v. Securities and Exchange Commission
Citation:
463 U.S. 646 (1983)Facts
In 1973, Raymond Dirks, an officer at a New York broker-dealer firm specializing in insurance company securities analysis, received information from Ronald Secrist, a former Equity Funding officer. Secrist alleged that Equity Funding’s assets were vastly overstated due to fraudulent corporate practices. Dirks investigated these allegations by visiting Equity Funding’s headquarters and interviewing several officers and employees. While senior management denied wrongdoing, some employees corroborated the fraud allegations. Throughout his investigation, Dirks openly discussed the information with clients and investors, some of whom sold their Equity Funding holdings totaling over $16 million. Dirks also attempted to get the Wall Street Journal to publish the story, but they initially declined. During Dirks’ two-week investigation, Equity Funding’s stock price fell from $26 to less than $15 per share, leading to a trading halt. Only after California insurance authorities uncovered evidence of fraud did the SEC file a complaint against Equity Funding, and the Wall Street Journal published the story.
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