Ex-Paul Hastings Associate to Serve Time in Halfway House for Insider Trading

A former Paul Hastings associate who pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy in a $4.8 million insider trading scheme won’t have to go to jail.

Instead, former tax associate Eric Holzer will have to spend nine months in a halfway house, time that can be served on weekends, the New York Law Journal reports. Holzer “choked back sobs” as he asked for leniency, the story says.

"I've embarrassed myself, my friends, my family and my colleagues," he told the court. "I want you to know. I need you to know, that you'll never find Eric Holzer in this kind of situation again."

Holzer admitted that he earned $119,000 in profits in the scheme, according to the story. He was accused of trading on information provided by a former Lehman Brothers broker who learned of confidential deals by observing the work of his wife, a public relations executive.

At the sentencing on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said he agreed with the probation department that Holzer was "a good person who made a terrible mistake,” the story says. Sentencing guidelines had called for a sentence of 12 to 18 months in prison.