It was reported this week that the SEC has admitted it received wiretaps mistakenly sent to it by prosecutors in the Galleon criminal investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York states that it inadvertently sent a limited number of wiretap communications to the SEC along with a large production of documents.
The SEC says it did not listen to the tapes until Jan. 26, after a lawyer for the Zvi Goffer asked whether the SEC was in possession of the wiretaps. According to DealBook, the SEC promptly contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office and returned the wiretaps to federal prosecutors.
Goffer’s lawyer, Cynthia Monaco, requested a hearing on the disclosure. She claims that the SEC was blind carbon copied on a letter from prosecutors that was sent to the defendants along with the 21 wiretap conversations. Monaco also claims that Valerie Szczepanik, an attorney with the SEC, admitted to receiving the wiretap communications and allegedly stated that they “formed the core of the government’s case” during a conference call. The U.S. Attorney’s Office denies blind copying the SEC on any correspondence, DealBook reports.
Monaco will argue to suppress the wiretaps from evidence. Goffer and six others pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Tuesday.
