Former SAC analyst settles insider charges with SEC

By Matthew Goldstein and Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - Former SAC Capital Advisors LP analyst Jonathan Hollander reached a settlement with U.S. securities regulators over allegations he engaged in insider trading in his personal account, while working at Steven A. Cohen's $12 billion hedge fund.

In settling with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, Hollander agreed to pay a penalty of $222,000, which include a fine and restitution for profits he, a family member, and a friend made from trading on a January 2006 tip about the buyout of the Albertsons' supermarket chain, his lawyer said.

The SEC did not name Cohen's fund in its complaint filed in New York federal court.

"Jonathan has decided to settle this matter rather than engage in costly and protracted litigation with the SEC," said Hollander's lawyer, Aitan Goelman, an attorney with Zuckerman Spaeder. "He is gratified to have the matter behind him and looks forward to moving on."

(With additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by Bernard Orr)