Sen. Warren Criticizes SEC Over Stamford Hedge Fund Decision

STAMFORD, CT- Outspoken U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has sharply criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after the regulator allowed Greenwich resident Steve Cohen to start a Stamford investment firm.

Cohen was banned from managing other people's money until 2018 by the SEC after he was implicated in an insider trader scandal at his hedge fund S.A.C. Capital. The firm agreed to pay $1.8 billion in fines. Cohen neither admitted or denied charges against him in a settlement decision, according to CNBC.

"...The SEC's decision to approve Stamford Harbor-and the January settlement terms that allowed this to happen - make a mockery of the SEC's core mission to 'protect investors," Warren said in a letter to the SEC. "The Commission has permitted a recidivist hedge fund manager, well-known for his former company's willingness to evade and ignore federal law, to once again profit from-and potentially exploit-investors."

Cohen has an ownership interest in new firm Stamford Harbor Capital L.P. but he doesn't supervise activities, a spokesman for the company said, according to Reuters. Still Warren ripped the SEC and said the move is a "shell" structure.

Point72 Asset Management is also run by Cohen, but that is used to invest his own personal money.