Lowell McAfee Birrell (February 5, 1907 – March 15, 1993) was one of the biggest stock manipulators in the 1950s. He fled the United States to Brazil, but eventually returned and served time in prison for securities fraud.
Biography
Birrell was born in
Whiteland, Indiana
Whiteland is a town in Pleasant, Franklin and Clark townships, Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,599 at the 2020 census.
Whiteland is located in north/central Johnson County approximately south of Indianapolis in J ...
, the son of a
Presbyterian minister
Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...
. He graduated from the
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...
in 1928, and briefly practiced law at the law firm of
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (known as Cadwalader) is a white-shoe law firm, and is New York City's oldest law firm and one of the oldest continuously operating legal practices in the United States. Attorney John Wells founded the practice ...
.
Through a series of complex transactions involving mergers and stock issuances Birrell gained control of 40 companies, including Claude Neon, United Dye & Chemical Corp., Fidelio Breweries, Swan-Finch Oil Co., Rhode Island Insurance, Equitable Plan, American Leduc Company, and Doeskin Products, Inc. According to the government, he left ten companies in bankruptcy or insolvency. He looted United Dye & Chemical for $2 million, before selling it to
Alexander Guterma Alexander Leonard Guterma (alias Sandy McSande) (April 29, 1915 – April 5, 1977) was one of the biggest stock manipulators in the United States in the 1950s, for which he was convicted and served three years in prison.
Biography
Guterma's early ...
, another stock manipulator.
In October 1957, Birrell fled to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and then to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
with $3 million in cash. He was indicted in July 1959 by a New York County grand jury on charges of stealing stock valued at $14 million from two companies he controlled (Swan-Finch Oil and Doeskin Products). He was also indicted by a federal grand jury for stock fraud in July 1961. Birrell returned to the United States in April 1964 as he was reportedly short of money. (In addition, an
extradition treaty with Brazil was scheduled to go into effect in December 1964, as Brazil had become a haven for a number of stock swindlers from the United States, like Ben Jack Cage,
Earl Belle Earl Fleegler Belle (October 22, 1930 – April 3, 1995) was one of the biggest stock manipulators in the 1950s. He fled the United States to Brazil, but returned after years and served time in prison for securities fraud. He was called various n ...
and Edward M. Gilbert.) Birrell was jailed for 15 months until friends raised the bail of $40,000. He was found guilty in December 1967 of 11 counts of securities fraud involving rigging the stock of American Leduc Petroleums, Ltd. The judge died before he could impose a sentence, but Birrell spent 23 months in prison before he could raise bail. He was then indicted in July 1969 for conspiracy and fraud involving using a blank stock certificate to obtain a bank loan, and then convicted in July 1970 and sentenced to two more years. He was called "the most brilliant manipulator of corporations in modern times" by the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
. Attorney
Arthur L. Liman
Arthur Lawrence LimanHaberman, Clyde ''The New York Times'', July 18, 1997. Accessed April 2, 2009. (November 5, 1932 – July 17, 1997) was a partner at the New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and was well known for his ...
, who helped prosecute Birrell, called him the "most notorious stock swindler in the 1950s" and "perhaps the leading wrecker of corporations and deluder of investors in the postwar era."
[Lawyer: A Life of Counsel and Controversy By Arthur L. Lima]
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birrell, Lowell
American businesspeople convicted of crimes
American white-collar criminals
Finance fraud
University of Michigan Law School alumni
1907 births
1993 deaths
People associated with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
American expatriates in Brazil