FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 99-173 SEC Charges New York Pension Fund Manager in $6.9 Million Kickback Scheme Los Angeles, CA, December 16, 1999 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has sued New York pension fund manager Alan B. Bond for fraudulently receiving more than $6.9 million in kickbacks from brokerage firms in connection with his management of the pension and investment funds of such notable clients as the National Basketball Association, the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority and the City University of New York. Bond, Harvard educated and a frequent guest on PBS's Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser, used the kickbacks to purchase more than 75 luxury and antique automobiles and a large home and beachfront condominium in Florida. Also today, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has criminally charged Bond, and the second defendant in this lawsuit, Robert I. Spruill, for conduct alleged in the SEC's complaint. The SEC's complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that, from September 1993 through November 1998, Bond received over $6.9 million in commission kickbacks from three brokerage firms. Bond directed trades to these firms through his former money management business, Bond, Procope Capital Management. The kickbacks he received were siphoned off the investment returns of his clients in the form of mark-ups on principal trades in the over-the-counter market. According to the complaint, Bond dictated to the brokerage firms the amount of the mark-up on each trade and the firms, in turn, kicked back 57-80% of the mark-ups to Bond. In most cases, the kickbacks were funneled through dummy corporations set up by Spruill, who worked as a broker at these firms. Bond then instructed the firms not to report the mark-ups on his clients' trade confirmations and account statements. "By choosing to direct trades to these firms, Bond was not only deciding when he received a kickback, he was also deciding how much the kickbacks would be, while at the same time preventing his clients from detecting the scheme," said Valerie Caproni, Pacific Regional Director of the SEC. The SEC's complaint further alleges that most of the money in this scheme went to finance Bond's extremely lavish personal lifestyle. In addition to the 75 cars and the two real estate properties in Florida, Bond frequently went on shopping sprees at stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co., running up American Express bills of $200,000 to $470,000 a month. He spent several hundred thousand dollars remodeling and furnishing his various homes. He also hired an interior designer to decorate the warehouse that he used to store his classic cars. Bond also used some of the illicit payments to purchase gratuities for the trustees and employees of his pension fund clients. The gratuities included limousine service, overnight stays in posh New York City hotels, expensive clothing and tickets to sporting events. According to the complaint, Bond had approximately 25 clients and over $600 million under management. The clients were mostly union and government pension funds. Bond's largest client was a retirement fund for Washington, DC's transit workers. Ms. Caproni said, "Although Mr. Bond's clients were mostly pension funds, the victims are human. Mr. Bond's scheme affected the life savings and financial security of thousands of working people, such as police officers, fire fighters, teachers and bus drivers. People who believed that their pension fund adviser was investing for their benefit, not his. We bring this case as a way of saying to all investment professionals: `If you're thinking of lining your own pockets with other people's money, don't. We will find you and stop you.'" As part of its lawsuit, the SEC charged Bond with violating, and Spruill with aiding and abetting violations of, the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Bond was also charged with filing false documents with the SEC. The lawsuit is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest and civil penalties against the defendants. The SEC acknowledges the valuable assistance the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the United States Postal Inspection Service in bringing this case. PERSONS TO CONTACT: SEC Clifford C. Hyatt (323) 965-3858 U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Marvin Smilon (212) 637-2600 # # #