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Steven Peikin is an American lawyer. On June 8, 2017 he was appointed as co-director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Enforcement Division, a title he shares with Stephanie Avakian. [1]
From 1996 to 2004, Peikin served as an assistant U.S. attorney, overseeing the securities and commodities task force for the Southern District of New York. The group pursues crimes including accounting fraud, insider trading and market manipulation. [2]
Among his clients in private practice at Sullivan & Cromwell, Mr. Peikin has helped represent Barclays against accusations of sanctions violations, LIBOR manipulation and insider trading [3] and Goldman Sachs Group, during a U.S. Senate investigation of its trading and warehousing of aluminum and other commodities. [4] In 2015, he represented Michael Coscia, a high-frequency trader convicted of "spoofing," in the first-of-its-kind prosecution by the government.
The SEC's ethics rules bar Peikin from supervising any cases that affect Goldman or other clients of Sullivan & Cromwell for one year. [5]
As co-chair of the division, he has cited cybercrime as one of the biggest threats to the financial markets and an enforcement priority of the agency.. [6]
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information are illegal. This is because it is seen as unfair to other investors who do not have access to the information, as the investor with insider information could potentially make larger profits than a typical investor could make. The rules governing insider trading are complex and vary significantly from country to country. The extent of enforcement also varies from one country to another. The definition of insider in one jurisdiction can be broad and may cover not only insiders themselves but also any persons related to them, such as brokers, associates, and even family members. A person who becomes aware of non-public information and trades on that basis may be guilty of a crime.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market manipulation.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many international financial centers. Goldman Sachs is the second-largest investment bank in the world by revenue and is ranked 55th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. In the Forbes Global 2000 of 2024, Goldman Sachs ranked 23rd. It is considered a systemically important financial institution by the Financial Stability Board.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options.
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. It is one of the most profitable law firms in the world, with 2021 profits per partner exceeding $6 million and profits per lawyer exceeding $1.3 million.
Steven A. Cohen is an American hedge-fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball since September 14, 2020, owning just over 97% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Management and S.A.C. Capital Advisors, which closed after pleading guilty to insider trading and other financial crimes.
Point72 Asset Management is an American hedge fund. It was founded in 2014 by Steve Cohen, after his previous company S.A.C. Capital Advisors pled guilty to insider trading charges.
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information. The setups are generally made to result in monetary gain for the deceivers, and generally result in unfair monetary losses for the investors. They are generally violating securities laws.
Amaranth Advisors LLC was an American multi-strategy hedge fund founded by Nicholas M. Maounis and headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. At its peak, the firm had up to $9.2 billion in assets under management before collapsing in September 2006, after losing in excess of $6 billion on natural gas futures. Amaranth Advisors collapse is one of the biggest hedge fund collapses in history and at the time (2006) largest known trading losses.
Mary Lovelace Schapiro served as the 29th Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She was appointed by President Barack Obama, unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and assumed the Chairship on January 27, 2009. She is the first woman to be the permanent Chair of the SEC. In 2009, Forbes ranked her the 56th most powerful woman in the world.
A Matter Under Inquiry is a term used by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to describe preliminary investigations it makes into alleged financial fraud in the companies that it is responsible for regulating. MUIs may lead to more serious formal investigations, or they may be closed and no further action taken.
Jordan Andolini Thomas is an American attorney, writer, speaker and media commentator. He is a partner and Chair of the firm SEC Whistleblower Advocates PLLC, where he represents whistleblowers reporting violations of the federal securities laws to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Walter Joseph "Jay" Clayton III is an American attorney who was the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from May 4, 2017 until December 23, 2020. He was nominated for the position by President Donald Trump.
Leerink Partners LLC is an independent investment bank providing healthcare companies and investors with financial services including M&A advisory, equity and debt capital markets, proprietary research, and sales and trading capabilities. The firm was founded in 1995 by Jeffrey A. Leerink, and is headquartered in Boston, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Charlotte, and Nashville.
Stephanie Avakian is an American lawyer, regulator and white collar criminal defense specialist appointed on June 8, 2017 to co-head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Enforcement, a title she shared with Steven Peikin. As of 2023 she had moved into private practice, working for WilmerHale.
Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, has been the subject of controversies. The company has been criticized for lack of ethical standards, working with dictatorial regimes, close relationships with the U.S. federal government via a "revolving door" of former employees, and driving up prices of commodities through futures speculation. It has also been criticized by its employees for 100-hour work weeks, high levels of employee dissatisfaction among first-year analysts, abusive treatment by superiors, a lack of mental health resources, and extremely high levels of stress in the workplace leading to physical discomfort.
Thomas A. Russo is an American attorney and former Wall Street executive. He was vice chairman and chief legal officer of Lehman Brothers and general counsel for American International Group (AIG), two of the companies that played a major role in the 2007–2008 financial crisis.
Citadel Securities LLC is an American market making firm providing liquidity and trade execution to retail and institutional clients, headquartered in Miami. The firm also trades futures, equities, credit, options, currencies, and Treasury bonds. It is the largest designated market maker on the New York Stock Exchange.
Michael Dubno is an American inventor, computer scientist, explorer, and video game developer.
Andrew J. Ceresney is an American lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton and a former government official who served as director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement.
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