SEC dismisses fraud case

NEW YORK: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in a rare reversal of a decision by one of its in-house judges, said it threw out a case against a Maryland-based banker it had accused of taking part in a short selling fraud with online brokerage optionsXpress.

"The record and law does not support" the agency´s case against the banker, Jonathan Feldman, the three member-commission wrote in an opinion.

The ruling overturns a 2013 decision by SEC Chief Administrative Judge Brenda Murray, who found Feldman liable and ordered him to pay $4.7 million in penalties.

The ruling also threw out a finding that optionsXpress aided Feldman but the firm must still pay a $3.6 million penalty for technical violations.