Restitution Order Against Broker for Fraudulent Trades Trimmed

A stock broker who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud must pay $1.85 million less in restitution than he was originally ordered because the government overstated who was harmed by the offense, the Second Circuit said Wednesday.

While Darren Goodrich was executing fraudulent over-the-counter trades for the sham company Cubed Inc., his co-conspirators arranged the sale of Cubed shares to private investors outside the public market.

The district court calculated Goodrich’s restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act to be $479,000 to the public-market victims and $1.85 million to the private-market victims.

The MVRA requires a defendant to ...