Nevada joins in probe of stock analyst conflicts

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

Nevada investigators are working with officials from more than 30 states to examine alleged conflicts of interest among Wall Street stock analysts, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's office said today.

Members of the Nevada Securities Fraud Division, which operates under the supervision of Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller, are looking into charges that analysts from several companies issued misleading stock reports to win business handling stocks, bonds and mergers for companies they covered.

Steve George, spokesman for the Secretary of State's office, said Nevada investigators have received no complaints from residents affected by such activities but are assisting investigators in other states to resolve any related problems.

Following an investigation headed by New York's attorney general, Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed Tuesday to pay a $100 million fine to settle charges that its analysts issued misleading information on stocks while Merrill did business with the stock issuers.

George said Nevada officials took part in that investigation and the state will get "a sizeable amount of money" once the settlement is divided.