BOCA RATON, Fla., June 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Sallah & Cox, LLC () is pleased to announce that Dr. Sebastian De La Maza, a prominent Miami psychiatrist, was cleared by a jury of any wrongdoing late Monday in an insider trading case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in federal court in Miami. (Securities and Exchange Commission v. De La Maza, et al., Case No. 09-21977-Civ-McAliley).
After a two-week trial in Miami, the jury found that Dr. Sebastian De La Maza, age 73, did not engage in insider trading by purchasing stock issued by Miami-based Neff Corp. only weeks before the company was acquired by Odyssey Investment Partners in 2005. Dr. De La Maza, according to the SEC's complaint, allegedly learned about the acquisition from his daughter, who is married to Neff's former CEO.
The trial was one of the first insider trading cases to be heard by a jury sitting in the Southern District of Florida in nearly a decade. Dr. De La Maza, who was represented by James D. Sallah, Esq. and Jeffrey L. Cox, Esq., adamantly denied the allegations and presented evidence at trial that he had a seven-year history of closely following and trading Neff, and that his purchases prior to Neff's acquisition were consistent with his trading history. Dr. De La Maza's attorney, James D. Sallah, Esq., stated, "Dr. De La Maza is pleased to have been vindicated by a jury of his peers and is thankful that the truth prevailed."
During his closing argument, Dr. De La Maza's counsel, Jeffrey L. Cox, Esq. asked the jury "to not let the government write his history and legacy with baseless allegations." Despite the SEC's arguments, it took the jury a little more than one hour to determine that Dr. De La Maza was not liable for insider trading. The defense verdict is the culmination of a federal investigation and litigation spanning nearly half of a decade. Earlier this year, Sallah & Cox also successfully defended Dr. De La Maza in a private, shareholder suit in federal court in Miami based on the same allegations, which was dismissed by the Court on different grounds. (Kamin et al. v. Acord, et al., Case No. 09-22829-Civ-Jordan). After the jury verdict, Dr. De La Maza stated that he is "happy to finally have this chapter closed forever."
Sallah & Cox, LLC is a boutique law firm focusing on securities regulatory matters, broker-dealer and investment advisor regulation, white-collar criminal defense, and securities arbitration and litigation. The firm aggressively represents clients throughout the nation. The firm consists of three attorneys, James D. Sallah, Esq., Jeffrey L. Cox, Esq., and Joshua A. Katz, Esq., who all contributed to the successful outcome of this matter.
Founding partners James D. Sallah, Esq. and Jeffrey L. Cox, Esq. are former SEC Enforcement attorneys. In addition, Mr. Sallah is a former Assistant Corporate Counsel for a national brokerage firm and Mr. Cox is a former Assistant United States Attorney responsible for prosecuting economic crimes.
For additional information or to further discuss this matter, you may contact either:
CONTACT: Sallah & Cox, LLC 1-888-SEC- ATTY (1-888-732-2889)
