Ex-RBS trader pleads guilty in U.S. to defrauding customers

[Scorpion]

Ex-RBS trader pleads guilty in U.S. to defrauding customers

Reuters
December 22, 2015, 7:11 am

People walk past a branch of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in central London August 27, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville

(Reuters) - A bond trader pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to defraud Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc customers by misrepresenting the prices of bond transactions he and others handled for them in an effort to boost the bank's profit.

Adam Siegel, 37, pleaded guilty in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut, for participating in a multimillion-dollar securities fraud scheme and agreed to cooperate in what prosecutors said in a statement was an ongoing investigation.

From 2008 to 2014, Siegel was co-head of U.S. asset-backed securities, mortgage-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities trading at RBS Securities Inc.

Neither Siegel's lawyer nor an RBS spokesperson were immediately available to comment.

Siegel is the second trader to plead guilty in the scheme. Matthew Katke of New York, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Alan Crosby and Frances Kerry)