NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)?Steven B. Markovitz a former executive and senior trader with Millennium Partners LP today pleaded guilty to a violation of New York?s Martin Act in New York State Supreme Court.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General?s office in a joint announcement said that Mr. Markovitz has agreed to a lifetime bar from association with an investment adviser or mutual fund as part of a settlement agreement.
?This guilty plea is a clear step forward in the investigation and prosecution of wrongdoing in the mutual fund industry. Working with SEC, my office will continue to pursue this matter aggressively,? said Eliot Spitzer, New York Attorney General, in a statement.
The SEC?s administrative order found that the hedge fund manager committed securities fraud as part of a late-trading mutual fund shares agreement on behalf of Millenium. According to the SEC order, Mr. Markovitz was engaged in short-term trading of mutual fund shares from 1999 to 2003.
