US charges top portfolio manager, former Wamco co-CIO Kenneth Leech, with fraud

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Kenneth Leech, the former co-chief investment officer of Western Asset Management Co, was criminally charged on Monday with running a more than $600 million "cherry-picking" scheme where he fraudulently favored some clients' accounts over others when allocating trades. Leech, 70, was charged with four counts of fraud and one count of making false statements by the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, and also faces related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges. Franklin Resources, the owner of Western Asset Management, better known as Wamco, was not charged.