Client: A NYSE Specialist Trader
Project: Litigation Support – Electronically Stored Information (ESI)
Executive Summary:
A Specialist Trader on the NY Stock Exchange was wrongfully accused of criminal fraud by the Department of Justice. Working for the defense, the Gemean team produced digital evidence used in preparing the case. This work required an understanding of the NYSE/SIAC’s proprietary systems and analysis of data on securities traded over a three-year period. Gemean’s ESI team received security clearance to the NYSE database systems, and provided expert witness in the trial which resulted in full dismissal of the charges.
Business Challenge:
Defense attorneys needed someone to sift through terabytes of historical trading records and analyze the specialist trader’s step-by-step actions and methods down to a fraction of a second. The electronically stored information resided on proprietary systems in the highly restricted SIAC data center on-site at the NYSE. Access to data was limited, so work needed to be completed quickly and accurately by analysts cleared for security and capability.
How Gemean Helped:
Working closely with the attorneys, Gemean’s ESI team developed a detailed search plan to optimize the limited time allotted by NYSE. On site, the Gemean team processed the raw data from SIAC then performed system and data analyses to locate problems in the data, timing anomalies, processing delays, volume of trading activity and system overload while tracking the trader’s keystrokes against the Display Book system. The Gemean team then reconstructed the trader’s actions over the period in question down to the hundredth of a second.
Gemean Provided:
- An organized plan for searching electronically stored information
- Rapid response and accurate retrieval of key ESI evidence
- Detailed evidence to support the litigation team
- Expert witness at deposition and trial
Value Delivered:
Evidence uncovered by the Gemean team helped convince the judge that the trader’s actions were proper and that no crime had been committed. The specialist trader avoided a long jail sentence and his company saved millions of dollars in fines and court costs. Both the trader and the trading company cleared their names of any wrongdoing.
