SEC Hammers Individual Traders Over Short Selling

Five independent traders were charged for committing short selling violations and agreed to pay a fine well in excess of the profits they generated on the trade, a punishment standard that has different meaning depending on who is being punished. Worldwide Capital and Jeffrey Lynn settled SEC charges on short selling Worldwide Capital and its owner Jeffrey W. Lynn agreed to pay $7.2 million to settle SEC charges in March for violating Rule 105, prohibiting the short sale of stocks during a restricted period – generally five business days before a public offering – and the subsequent purchase of that same stock…