Nuveen Insider Trader Ordered to Pay $38 Million to TIAA-CREF

(Bloomberg) -- Former Nuveen LLC trader Lawrence Billimek, who was sentenced last month to nearly six years in prison for insider trading, was additionally hit with an order to pay Nuveen parent TIAA-CREF more than $38 million in restitution.

US District Judge Paul Gardephe on Thursday ruled that Billimek and his co-conspirator, Alan Williams, are jointly liable for the amount. Both men pleaded guilty last year to engaging in a front-running scheme in which they bought shares ahead of planned Nuveen trades.

TIAA-CREF claimed the pair’s front-running resulted in poorer execution for Nuveen clients and sought $38 million as compensation. It also sought hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover the legal costs it incurred dealing with the government investigation into the matter.

The judge denied some of the fees TIAA-CREF sought and also rejected the firm’s request for around $8 million in interest.

Billimek and Williams were accused of making around $47 million from their scheme. In his order, Gardephe noted that Billimek’s pre-sentencing report stated that he had around $17 million in assets and monthly income of more than $24,000. According to the indictment, Williams had around $36 million.

At his May 20 sentencing, Billimek and his lawyers tried to argue that his actions weren’t motivated by greed but a desire for financial security spurred by a period of unemployment following the 2008 subprime crisis. But Manhattan federal prosecutors pointed out that Billimek went far beyond building a nest egg and bought multimillion-dollar homes across the country.

Gardephe gave Billimek 70 months in prison. Williams is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

The case is US v. Billimek, 22-cr-675, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

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