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United States v. Aiyer

United States v. Aiyer

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

July 6, 2020, Decided; July 6, 2020, Filed

18cr333 (JGK)

Opinion

 [*391]  OPINION & ORDER

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:

On November 20, 2019, the jury in this case found the defendant, Akshay Aiyer, guilty of participating in a conspiracy to restrain trade in violation of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1. The defendant now moves for a judgment of acquittal notwithstanding the jury verdict pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29(c)1 and in the alternative for a new trial pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33. For the reasons explained below, both motions are denied.

On May 10, 2018, the grand jury returned an indictment charging the defendant with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade [**2]  in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. ECF No. 1. The indictment charged that the defendant, while working at JPMorgan Chase2 as a trader in the foreign exchange ("FX") market, conspired with Jason Katz, Christopher Cummins, and Nicolas Williams3 from at least as early as October 2010 until at least July 2013 "to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices of, and rigging bids and offers for, [Central and Eastern European, Middle Eastern, and African Emerging Markets currencies ("CEEMEA")] traded in the United States and elsewhere" in violation of Section One of the Sherman Act. Id. at 6-7. The indictment alleged that the defendant and his coconspirators carried out the conspiracy through near-daily conversations in private chat rooms, phone conversations, text messages, and other means of communication in which they revealed their trading positions, trading strategies, bids and offers to customers, customer orders, and other relevant information in order to coordinate their bids and offers for CEEMEA currencies and thereby fix certain prices for CEEMEA currencies. Id. at 7-8.

The trial began on October 30, 2019 with jury selection. On November 20, 2019 the jury returned a verdict of guilty against [**3]  the defendant on the single count of conspiracy to restrain trade in violation of the Sherman Act. The defendant now moves for a judgment of acquittal pursuant to Rule 29 or in the alternative for a new trial pursuant to Rule 33.

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470 F. Supp. 3d 383 *; 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118020 **; 2020-1 Trade Cas. (CCH) P81,277; 2020 WL 3636048

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - against - AKSHAY AIYER, Defendant.

Prior History: United States v. Aiyer, 433 F. Supp. 3d 468, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9060 (S.D.N.Y., Jan. 15, 2020)

CORE TERMS

trading, conspiracy, bids, customer, rig, chat, ruble, currencies, fix prices, traders, prices, transactions, buy, defendant argues, summations, alleged co conspirator, dollars, new trial, coordinated, competitors, rand, price fixing, coconspirators, horizontal, stop-loss, spoofing, communications, offers, banks, beyond a reasonable doubt

Criminal Law & Procedure, Trials, Motions for Acquittal, Evidence, Burdens of Proof, Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Weight & Sufficiency, Standards of Review, Substantial Evidence, Sufficiency of Evidence, Inferences & Presumptions, Inferences, Juries & Jurors, Province of Court & Jury, Credibility of Witnesses, Types of Evidence, Circumstantial Evidence, Weight of Evidence, Antitrust & Trade Law, Price Fixing & Restraints of Trade, Per Se Rule & Rule of Reason, Per Se Violations, Cartels & Horizontal Restraints, Price Fixing, Sherman Act, Tying Arrangements, Sherman Act Violations, Monopolies & Monopolization, Conspiracy to Monopolize, Elements, Per Se Rule Tests, Manifestly Anticompetitive Effects, International Aspects, Commerce With Foreign Nations, Business & Corporate Law, Distributorships & Franchises, Causes of Action, Restraints of Trade, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Antitrust, Horizontal Mergers, Inchoate Crimes, Conspiracy, Sherman Act, Remedies, Damages, Judicial Discretion, Postconviction Proceedings, Motions for New Trial, Admissibility, Procedural Matters, Rulings on Evidence, Appeals, Reversible Error, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Counsel, Prosecutors, Closing Arguments, Fair Comment & Fair Response, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Prohibition Against Improper Statements, Legal Ethics, Prosecutorial Conduct