JonesTrading GC Fired Over Charges He Committed Sex Acts With a Minor
Jason Lavender had been GC at JonesTrading Institutional Services for less than five months before his recent firing.
September 04, 2018 at 03:04 PM
3 minute read
JonesTrading Institutional Services has fired general counsel Jason Lavender, who was arrested last month over allegations he committed sexual acts with a minor.
The Westlake Village, California-based company, which provides equity trading and brokerage services, fired Lavender on Aug. 24, according to reports from Bloomberg LP, after learning of the charges against him.
“Mr. Lavender, who had worked at JonesTrading for less than 5 months, was terminated immediately once we became aware of the appalling charges that were filed against him,” CEO Alan Hill said in a statement provided to Bloomberg. “These charges were unrelated to JonesTrading's workplace. Given the sensitivity of this matter and out of respect for anyone affected by his alleged actions, we are unable to comment further.”
According to Bloomberg, Lavender was arrested on Aug. 23. He was released after posting $240,000 bail on Aug. 29, according to court records, two days after he was remanded to custody of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and hit with a protective order.
Patrice Koenig, a prosecutor with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, told Corporate Counsel the charges, which include two counts of lewd act upon a child and four counts related to sexual acts with a person under 16, come from alleged actions that spanned June to August. A plea of not guilty was entered on all counts Aug. 27, court documents said.
Koenig said there will be an early disposition conference on Sept. 18, during which Lavender could choose to plead guilty. “If it's not settled at that time, a preliminary hearing would be set,” Koenig said.
Lavender, a former senior corporate counsel for Charles Schwab Corp.'s broker-dealer subsidiary and graduate of UC Hastings Law School, faces up to six years in state prison. However, Koenig said it's unlikely he'll be hit with the maximum sentence due to his clean criminal record.
Neither Ron Bamieh of Bamieh & Erickson, who is representing Lavender, nor JonesTrading immediately replied to request for comment.
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