Two ex-Lehman Bros. brokers among four people hit in $4.8M insider ring

The feds busted a $4.8 million insider trading scheme involving two ex-Lehman Brothers brokers who funneled confidential tips through a Playboy Playmate, officials said Thursday.

Matthew Devlin, 35, gleaned info about mergers and acquisitions through his wife, Nina, an executive at the public relations firm the Brunswick Group, officials said.

Matthew Devlin, one of four nabbed on insider trading charges, dubbed his wife the "golden goose" in coded e-mails retrieved by the feds.

Day trader Jamil Bouchareb, 27, steered some of those tips to his girlfriend, August 1994 Playmate of the Month Maria Checa, that she used to score an untold amount of profits using two accounts, Checa International and Playmate Capital, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We need the goose to pop its head out and show us the biz," Bouchareb wrote in one e-mail when the tips ran dry. "Where has my goose gone? Come back little goose."

Trades were placed on a dozen pending mergers, including InBev NV's purchase of Anheuser-Busch in July.

"Devlin curried favor with his friends and business associates and received in return cash, luxury items and other benefits," the SEC claims.

Matthew Devlin's pals rewarded him with a Cartier watch, a wide-screen TV, a leather jacket and Porsche driving lessons.

Bouchareb, his parents, Checa and two others are believed to have reaped $4.2 million.

Neither Nina Devlin nor Checa were charged criminally. Checa is named in a civil lawsuit filed by the SEC.

Matthew Devlin already has pleaded guilty.

His Lehman colleague, Frederick Bowers, also was charged.

On the Playboy Web site, Checa says her "turn-offs" include "People who are dishonest, self-centered and have no ambition."

The Brunswick Group claims Nina Devlin did not know her husband was passing along information.

"It is our understanding that the information, which relates to a limited number of her clients, was obtained by being in close proximity to his wife and from the implications of her travel schedule," the company said. "We believe she was unaware of her husband's activities and is devastated by these events."

Checa, 38, is a Colombian-born model and actress who lives in Greensboro, N.C. She's regarded as an accomplished artist who attended the Maryland Institute College of Art.


Source: nydailynews.com