Fact Box
It has been reported that Epstein got his light sentence in part because of information he traded on Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin. The two men had bet very heavily on the Florida housing market, and found themselves with a target on their backs when the subprime market started to implode. The SEC settled with the men and suspended them from the securities industry while the government launched a federal case. Eopstein was said to have given information by some, though others have questioned what information he would have been able to give in the case. In the end, both men were acquitted.