by Calculated Risk on 6/20/2008 01:16:00 PM

Bloomberg has an overview: Bear Stearns Fund Prosecutors Reveal `Lot of Evidence' of Fraud

As I noted yesterday, the indictment contains several allegations that the managers knew specific material information about the condition of the funds, and then provided false information to investors. Bloomberg noted the same example I gave yesterday:

``It's very hard to say you weren't shading the truth in an important way when you say you had a couple of million dollars of redemptions when in fact you had $47 million,'' [Christopher Clark, a former federal prosecutor in New York] said.

If the prosecutors can prove the managers knew certain material facts on a certain date, and then prove the managers told investors materially different facts on a subsequent date - IMO that is powerful evidence of securities fraud.

The WSJ has the indictment here. I think the actual indictment is much stronger than the flimsy evidence provided in the advance news stories.