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Former UBS Securities strategist files whistle-blower lawsuit

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NEW YORK—A former strategist for UBS Securities Inc. filed a whistle-blower retaliation lawsuit against the company Thursday, claiming he was fired after resisting pressure to skew his research reports.

Trevor Murray, a former senior commercial mortgage backed securities strategist for the company, filed a complaint in federal district court in New York on Thursday.

He made the same charges in a complaint also filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

According to the lawsuit, Mr. Murray worked for UBS Securities from about May 2007 to September 2009. After leaving the firm, he was recruited to return at a base salary of $250,000 and promised minimum incentive payments of an additional three-quarters of his base salary. His second stint lasted from about May 2011 to Feb. 6, 2012.

During his second stint, he worked with Ken Cohen, formerly of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., who was concurrently hired to run UBS Securities' CMBS trading and commercial mortgage originations, according to Mr. Murray's complaint.

Mr. Murray said he was the target of Mr. Cohen and others “to skew his research to appear more favorable” to the unit’s products and trading positions.

Mr. Murray “refused to produce any report that was inconsistent with his own research, and on several occasions, complained to his supervisors at UBS Securities that he was being pressured to produce misleading reports,” says the lawsuit. UBS did not take any corrective action, but instead fired Mr. Murray about one month after his most recent complaint, “despite his impeccable record.”

The lawsuit charges the firm with violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and seeks reinstatement to Mr. Murray’s position at UBS, twice the amount of back pay he is owed and litigation costs.

A UBS spokesman could not be reached for comment.

In addition to UBS being investigated in connection with the Libor probe, a reported scheme by London-based UBS A.G. trader Kweku M. Adoboli led to $2.3 billion in losses at the Swiss-based firm last year and the resignation of its CEO, Oswald J. Grubel.

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