A Word Of Advice To Those Considering Taking Up Insider Trading, Courtesy Of Pequot

So you're contemplating being on the giving or receiving end of some hot tips are you? Before you do so, may we make a suggestion? Obviously we're not going to tell you to stop and think about the fact that it's still currently frowned upon to trade on material non-public information. You've made your decision and we support that. What we are going to strongly suggest is that you consider a) NOT discussing your activities with your spouse or b) vow now, no matter how bad it gets, to stay married to this guy or girl, 'cause if you don't he/she will throw it all back in your face in an attempt to get you nailed to the wall.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday it obtained “direct evidence” of market-moving information passed to Arthur Samberg of Pequot Capital Management Inc. by David Zilkha from a hard drive in possession of Karen Kaiser, Zilkha’s former spouse. That means Kaiser may be eligible for a whistleblower reward of up to 10 percent of the $10 million fine Samberg and Pequot agreed to pay in settling the case. “The bounty is by no means the reason why we brought forth the evidence to the SEC, but it is something that we certainly are going to be pursuing,” her lawyer, Mark Sherman, said in an interview yesterday.

“Divorce can be the scariest thing on Wall Street,” said Peter Henning, a former SEC enforcement attorney who teaches at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. “It exposes all of your secrets. People don’t hide things from their spouses.”