Robert Ray was featured in the Law360 article, "Ex-Stockbroker Fumes at 'Boiler Room' Label in 2nd Circ." Full text can be found in the May 14, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is noted below.
The stockbroker recently sentenced with eight years and $12 million for a fraud scheme believes the ruling should be overturned because prosecutors unfairly used weighted words.
Robert Ray who represented the stockbroker said that the government used the words "boiler room" more than 70 times along with other words such as "fraudsters" and accused the defendants of lying.
Ray said to the judge panel that, "It significantly poisoned the jury."
Ray highlighted a statement made by the prosecutors opening statement, which said, "The defendant and his cronies didn't need guns and ski masks. They armed themselves with silver tongues and telephones, and then they told lie after lie after lie, to get their victims to buy stock."
According to Ray, much of the statements made were "over-the-top." He added that the judge had failed to inform the jury that the opening and closing statements cannot be used as evidence.
"I don't think there's a Second Circuit case that has approved the use of 'fraudsters,'" Ray added. "Why do you have to use the word 'lie' rather than simply producing the facts that constitute the fraud?"
The judge proceeded to ask the prosecutor to defend the use of the words and ultimately reserved a final decision on the case.
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