11th Circ. Ruling May Affect Criminal Securities Fraud Cases
On Jan. 27 Law360 published an article authored by David Chaiken, Bryan Lavine and John West centered on how a Jan. 18 Eleventh Circuit decision, United States v. Stein, may influence white collar criminal sentencing proceedings in fraud-on-the-market securities fraud cases. The timely article describes how this decision makes the Eleventh Circuit the latest circuit to reject the application of Dura Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Broudo, a civil securities fraud case, to limit loss calculations in criminal securities fraud cases. The article discusses a circuit split on the issue, and explains that the amount of loss is the primary factor in determining the length of a federal prison sentence in most white collar cases. It notes that as a result of the decision, it may become more difficult for defense counsel to limit loss calculations in such cases.