WASHINGTON — Sentencing for convicted bid-rigger David Rubin has been pushed back until Feb. 3 and for Mark Zaino until Feb. 11, while Alexander Wright received a light sentence and James Hertz only had to pay $300 in fees.
Rubin, who founded investment agreement broker CDR Financial Products, Inc., entered into a plea agreement in January 2012 to three criminal counts for his role in the bid-rigging scheme.
The counts were conspiracy to allocate and rig bids for investment agreements or other municipal finance contracts, defrauding muni issuers and the Internal Revenue Service, and wire fraud. Rubin's sentencing date has been pushed back multiple times already from an original date of April 27, 2012.
Zaino, who worked at the UBS bond desk in New York, pleaded guilty in May 2010 to one count each of conspiracy to restrain trade, conspiracy and wire fraud, in relation to a scheme to rig bids for municipal bond investment contracts, often offering "last looks" at competitors' bids.
He had faced a maximum of 35 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines, but will likely wind up with a far lighter sentence based on the penalties handed down to others involved in the scheme.
Wright and Hertz, both former J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. employees, pleaded guilty in 2010 and 2012, respectively in connection with bid rigging. Wright pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in July 2012 and on Oct. 24 Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced him to one year of probation, along with a $1,000 fine and a $100 "special assessment" owed on a per-count basis by all people convicted of federal crimes.
Hertz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to two counts of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud on Dec. 6, 2010. The Securities and Exchange Commission barred him from the muni market and from association with investments advisors, nationally recognized rating agencies and penny stock offerings. Hertz's sentencing hearing took place Dec. 18, and the judge ordered only that he pay the $300 special assessment.
