Former Mayer Brown partner Joseph Collins, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the $2.4bn (£1.6bn) Refco fraud, has settled charges filed against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports The Am Law Daily.

Corporate partner Collins was sentenced in January for his role in the fraud that brought down commodities trader Refco – Collins' largest client when measured by billable hours.

The final judgment against Collins enjoins him from violating a section of the securities code on the use of manipulative and deceptive practices in the purchase and sale of securities. Collins consented to the judgment without admitting or denying the SEC's charges.

The SEC filed its civil charges against Collins in December 2007 – about the same time that the Justice Department brought criminal charges against him.

Collins, who was represented by Cooley white-collar and regulatory defence chair William Schwartz, testified that he was unaware that the loans he was documenting were actually sham transactions used to disguise Refco's mounting debt. A federal jury disagreed.

Collins, who worked out of Mayer Brown's Chicago and New York offices, resigned from Mayer Brown shortly after his conviction in July 2009.

He was charged with helping to hide the financial services company's true financial condition and enrich itself in the process. Lawyers for Collins argued at his two-month trial that he had been unaware of the fraud.

The Am Law Daily is a blog on law.com, Legal Week's US sister title.