Bloomberg
Law firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP agreed to be banned for five years from appearing before any New York public pension fund and will pay $550,000 to the state, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.
The accord stems from Manatt’s representation of financial firms seeking investments from public pension funds without a securities license, Cuomo said today in an e-mailed statement.
Manatt, based in Los Angeles, secured meetings on behalf of firms seeking investments from pension funds in states such as New York and California. From 2004 to 2006, Manatt and a California-based lobbyist partner, Platinum Advisors, each received $187,500 in fees for helping place a $25 million investment by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System in Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Fund, Cuomo said.
“Unlicensed agents are untrained, unsupervised and typically traffic in political and personal connections to get access to public money,” Cuomo said in the statement. “We have seen all varieties of this risky behavior and now it includes a prominent national law firm.”
Manatt also made or tried to make introductions to pension funds for New York state and city employees and to the state teachers retirement system, though no investments resulted from those efforts and the firm received no compensation, Cuomo said.
The firm is quoted in Cuomo’s statement saying it is “pleased to put this matter behind us.”
Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for governor, started in 2007 investigating corruption at New York’s Common Retirement Fund, the third-largest in the U.S., recently valued at $124.8 billion. At least seven people have pleaded guilty to criminal charges, 15 investment firms have settled and more than $139 million has been paid to the fund and to the state.
Manatt, like others who have come to terms with Cuomo, agreed to adopt reforms that include a ban on placement agents obtaining investments from public pension funds and limits on campaign contributions to those with the power to assign investment business.
“We commend Attorney General Cuomo for investigating the placement process for pension fund investments and we embrace his new Reform Code of Conduct,” the firm said.
The accord stems from Manatt’s representation of financial firms seeking investments from public pension funds without a securities license, Cuomo said today in an e-mailed statement.
Manatt, based in Los Angeles, secured meetings on behalf of firms seeking investments from pension funds in states such as New York and California. From 2004 to 2006, Manatt and a California-based lobbyist partner, Platinum Advisors, each received $187,500 in fees for helping place a $25 million investment by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System in Levine Leichtman Capital Partners Fund, Cuomo said.
“Unlicensed agents are untrained, unsupervised and typically traffic in political and personal connections to get access to public money,” Cuomo said in the statement. “We have seen all varieties of this risky behavior and now it includes a prominent national law firm.”
Manatt also made or tried to make introductions to pension funds for New York state and city employees and to the state teachers retirement system, though no investments resulted from those efforts and the firm received no compensation, Cuomo said.
The firm is quoted in Cuomo’s statement saying it is “pleased to put this matter behind us.”
Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for governor, started in 2007 investigating corruption at New York’s Common Retirement Fund, the third-largest in the U.S., recently valued at $124.8 billion. At least seven people have pleaded guilty to criminal charges, 15 investment firms have settled and more than $139 million has been paid to the fund and to the state.
Manatt, like others who have come to terms with Cuomo, agreed to adopt reforms that include a ban on placement agents obtaining investments from public pension funds and limits on campaign contributions to those with the power to assign investment business.
“We commend Attorney General Cuomo for investigating the placement process for pension fund investments and we embrace his new Reform Code of Conduct,” the firm said.
No comments:
Post a Comment