The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suffered a legal defeat when its fraud case against a former Citigroup manager ended in a not guilty verdict.
According to a Reuters report, Brian Stoker was found not liable of misleading buyers of a $1 billion collateralized debt obligation in 2007. Stoker was one of the few Wall Street executives to be brought to trial by the SEC for problematic transactions that occurred in the run-up to the 2008 financial crash.
In an unusual twist, the eight-member jury was allowed to issue a statement along with its verdict.
‘This verdict should not deter the SEC from continuing to investigate the financial industry, to review current regulations, and modify existing regulations as necessary,’ the jury said in its statement.
