A Long Island mortgage broker pleaded guilty in Newark federal court in connection with the biggest insider trading scheme in New Jersey history.
Kenneth Robinson admitted he served as a "middleman" to help a corporate lawyer and Wall Street broker make tens of millions of dollars in illegal trades.
Robinson said he had been helping pass information between the two men since 1994, during which time more than $100 million in stock was bought and sold for $32 million in profits.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said Robinson helped lawyer Matthew Kluger and broker Garrett Bauer. NBC New York first reported the arrests last week.
Kluger had worked at top law firms like Skadden, Arps; Cravath; and Wilson Sonsini. The FBI said he stole nonpublic information from those firms about upcoming mergers and gave that information to Robinson. Robinson then allegedly relayed the information to Bauer, who executed trades based on those illegal leaks. Prosecutors said all three men profited from those "insider trades."
The FBI said it has the suspects on tape and that Robinson agreed to cooperate in the investigation.
Robinson alleges the three men used prepaid cell phones to try to communicate. He claims he helped uncover alleged attempts by his colleagues to destroy evidence as the FBI moved in.
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Robinson faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced. Cooperators often receive reduced sentences, however.
