Opinion ID: 737499
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The criminal charge

Text: 11 On July 26, 1995 Merriam, Hayes and one other person were charged in a 34 count Superseding Indictment with violations of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (conspiracy), 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud) and 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j and 78ff (securities fraud). The indictment charged that Merriam, Hayes, and one other person manipulated the price of stock in Vintage, a venture capital company owned by Merriam, by engaging in a free-riding scheme whereby Merriam, Hayes, and one other person would buy and sell their stock in cooperation with each other and sell it to third parties based upon false and inflated financial data without disclosing that Hayes and the other named individual were fronted stock which they subsequently paid back at the original low price after turning a profit at the later inflated price. 12 Both Merriam and Hayes filed motions to dismiss for violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause. The district court denied the motions ruling that the lifetime bar orders do not equate to punishment.