Jury Split on Charges Against BofA Broker

The jury weighing charges against Theodore Sihpol III, a former Bank of America Corp. broker accused of late trading in mutual fund shares, said Tuesday that it reached a verdict on 20 of 33 charges and was split on the rest.

The jury said in a note that the vote was 11 to 1 on the remaining 13 counts. The jury didn’t say whether it had decided to convict or acquit Sihpol after four days of deliberations.

“Keep talking and listening to each other and explaining each others’ point of view,” New York Supreme Court Justice James Yates told jurors before sending them home for the day.

The judge said he wouldn’t accept a partial verdict and would urge jurors “to keep working at it.” Deliberations are scheduled to continue today.

Sihpol’s trial was the first to arise from New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer’s investigation of the mutual fund industry. Spitzer contended that buying or selling after hours, known as late trading, was a crime because it diluted returns for fund members who weren’t granted the preferred treatment.

Sihpol, 37, is accused of helping a now-defunct hedge fund illegally late-trade in mutual funds between 2001 and 2003. Prosecutors contend that he accepted lists of proposed trades from Canary Capital Partners, time-stamping them before 4 p.m., when trading ended for the day. After 4 p.m., Canary would specify which trades it wanted and Sihpol would execute them, prosecutors said.

Sihpol has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers contend that late-trading was legal.