Their is no doubt in my mind that Friedland has violated the law. That said, I wonder if he would have been investigated if he had written books and claimed expertise on some clearly legal product.

If I were defending him I'd certainly bring up the possibility that he was targeted by the Federal Govt. scrutinizing the industry he's in. Of course if the Govt. has a large record of similar prosecutions against others in industries that clearly are legal, I'd avoid that defense. I don't know what the answer is, and clearly what he did was illegal, and short term it certainly brought down OWCP's share price. I don't know that shareholders as a class couldn't sue him, but I don't know what assets he'll have when the SEC finishes with him.

Gary