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By Matthew Russell Lee, Periscope, Photos

SDNY COURTHOUSE, October 11 – After insider trading tipper Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz was sentenced to 14 months in prison, and on July 30 one of his two tippees Jeremy Millul was sentenced to five months, on October 11 the second cooperating tippee Abell Oujaddou came to be sentenced.

  Oujaddou was probably surprised to see the full courtroom of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff. The crowd, other than Inner City Press and perhaps one other, was for Judge Rakoff's GSE bond antitrust case.

  Inner City Press went to the overflow room, usually unused Courtroom 12B, and watched as Judge Rakoff asked Oujaddou's lawyer why he should not impose a large fine. When the lawyer replied that Oujaddou was an unusual client in that he was so nice, Judge Rakoff jokely asked if he told his other clients that.

  While Oujaddou cheated even Pinto Thomas, out of $2,500 dollars, his cooperation counted for a lot with the US Attorney's office, who has also only this week discussed its 5K1 letter offers to men who confessed to killing 56 and 78 people.

  Judge Rakoff imposed a $500,000 fine on Oujaddou, but no jail time. It's a significant fine, more than Oujaddou made and payable in 30 days. But with no jail time, one wonders how it is not pay to play. We will continue to explore this.

   During the sentencing that Pinto-Thomaz's lawyer's argument in the trial had been to "throw his mother under the bus." The lawyer, Henry Mazurek with another client facing a jury across the hallway, said it was more complicated that that. And complicated it is.

   Sentencings in the SDNY often involve the invocation of the sins of the father, absent fathers, abusive fathers. This absent father was different than the norm: a Brazilian industrial magnate. Equally absent, even as Sebastian's mother sent to open luxury stores in Asia. Call it the Nanny Diaries.

  When Sebastian spoke, just before sentencing, it was strange to hear his voice after weeks of the trial, him sad faced in the 500 Pearl Street lobby or working his cell phone in the plaza outside. Then it was said he was looking for work in Houston. Now he is also an EMT, and offering to do community service.

  Judge Rakoff was his usual erudite self, calling the sentencing guidelines irrational and saying that these days, AUSAs probably wish more defendants went to trial rather than, like 97%, pleading out. The AUSA here, Christine I. Magdo, spoke of the need for general deterrence. Co-defendant Jeremy Millul is to be sentenced on July 29 - Inner City Press aims to be there, watch this site.

 He was barely 30 years old but was publicly traded paint company Sherwin Williams' main contact at S&P when it moved to acquire Valstar in 2016. Mysteriously a hairdresser Abell Oujaddou linked to both Sebastian and to his mother Nathalie Pinto-Thomaz made large purchases of Valspar stock and options and fell under suspicious by FINRA. A Jeremy Millul made even larger trades, of options. On April 24 the defense was barred from putting Millul's mother on the stand, to testify about another bank account and more, Inner City Press was informed.

  Late morning on April 26 the the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York courtroom of Judge Jed Rakoff, the jury was read the elements of the crime and told that if they did not decide today, the next day would be Tuesday. The marshall was sworn, to take them to a "private and convenient place" - an adjacent room. Where well before the 2:30 pm knock off time for the more covered college basketball prosecution upstairs, the jury decided guilty. The sentencing will be in July. We'll have more on this.

On April 25 prosecutor Christine I. Magdo called the defense shatter-shot and desperate. She showed that Sebastian Pinto-Thomaz was in the WhatsApp and Viber contracts of jewerly dealer and Valspar options trader Jeremy Millul. But as defense lawyer Henry Mazurek pointed out after the jury was gone for the day, this doesn't prove that the two men communicated over the platforms, which when installed demand or trick a user into importing all of their contacts from email, for example.

  Judge Rakoff said the jury could make a reasonable inference from the contacts information, adding that in the view of one reasonable observer Mazurek has engaged in his summation in gross speculation. Mazurek asked, Who is that reasonable observer? Rakoff shot back, you'll have to speculate. He will instruct the jury for a half hour on April 26 then they will deliberate. According to the government, the health and safety of the stock market is on the line. Watch this site - more here on Patreon.

  Earlier on April 25 the defense put on the stand an IT consultant who showed charts he's made of hairdresser and tipee Abell Ajouddou's stock trades including Citigroup, JPM Chase and Bank of America, twice, and compare the volume of his communications, cell phone and text message, with the mother (65%) and son (35%).

  The government counter-punched by noting that WhatsApp and Viber calls were not included, and that Bank of America, Sprint and Blackberry / RIM were double counted. It was a strange ending to the evidence. After summations, the jury will begin deliberating early on April 26. Watch this site, and @SDNYLIVE.

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