P. M. BRIEFING : Wall Street Arbitragers Found Guilty of Insider Trading, Fraud

A federal jury today convicted two Wall Street arbitragers on insider trading, fraud and other counts linked to the so-called “Yuppie Five” scandal, capping a 12-week trial.

Victor Teicher, 38, who headed the arbitrage firm Teicher & Co., faces a maximum 60-year prison term and fines that could total $3 million. Teicher’s firm faces a $500,000 fine, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Carl H. Loewenson.

Also convicted was Ross Frankel, 33, former head of arbitrage research at now-defunct investment house Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. He could receive as much as 30 years in jail and a $1.5-million fine.

The verdict ends five days of jury deliberations over a case stemming from the “Yuppie Five” insider trading case. Four young Wall Street professionals and a client pleaded guilty in 1986 to making illegal stock trades based on inside information about corporate takeovers that they had obtained through their jobs.

Teicher and Frankel were convicted of trading the stocks of eight corporations based on stolen information. Loewenson said he did not have a figure for the total profits reaped from their trades.