How Strong Are the Cases Against Steve Cohen and SAC?

In a federal court on Friday morning, a lawyer for SAC Capital, the big hedge fund owned by Steve Cohen, entered on the firm’s behalf pleas of not guilty to five counts of securities fraud related to alleged insider dealing. Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, unveiled the charges on Thursday, and Antonia Apps, a prosecutor in Bharara’s office, told the court that there was “a tremendous volume of evidence” against the firm, including court-authorized wiretaps, e-mails, and instant messages.

Still, the government didn’t file any criminal charges against Cohen himself. He founded the firm, remains its sole owner, and is widely believed to be the ultimate target of an investigation that has been going on for more than a decade. It’s perfectly possible that more charges could be brought at a later date, but, if there were an open-and-shut case, Cohen would already be in the dock. Instead, it is his firm that has been indicted. Should it be found guilty, Cohen would obviously be affected by the cost of any fines, but he wouldn’t face jail time.

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