Valuation of illiquid securities

Brattle experts consulted for and testified on behalf of the DOJ in the criminal case, U.S. v. Ahuja, et al. In this matter, hedge fund managers were accused of overstating the value of illiquid structured finance securities. We summarized and analyzed contemporaneous data, including data relative to various pricing benchmarks, to establish that the hedge fund managers selectively relied on a subset of available information about the value of the securities in question to over-value them. Brattle testified at trial to present this analysis to the court and the jury. The hedge fund managers were found guilty, and the court cited Brattle’s analysis and testimony as a key component in this determination and sentencing.