SEC paying $755K to settle with fired lawyer

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Securities and Exchange Commission is paying $755,000 to settle a lawsuit with a former staff lawyer who accused the agency of blocking his investigation of a prominent hedge fund.

The SEC settlement of Gary Aguirre’s wrongful termination claim was announced Tuesday by the Government Accountability Project.

Aguirre alleged there was improper interference by SEC officials in the probe of Pequot Capital Management. Pequot and its chairman agreed to pay $28 million last month to settle the SEC’s charges of insider trading of Microsoft shares.