Now that he has been convicted on felony charges related to the manipulation of stock options, former KB Home Chief Executive Bruce Karatz and his legal team have shifted their focus to a new legal battle: trying to keep him out of prison.
Defense attorneys have said they intend to ask U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II to reverse the four convictions for lack of evidence. That motion is expected to be filed next month.
Barring a reversal, Karatz’s defense team has indicated that it will appeal. That action is likely to address two rulings the defense lost during the trial. One would be that Wright declined to instruct jurors that they would have to find Karatz not guilty if they believed he was acting on the advice of his attorneys when he committed the actions in question. Any appeal, however, could not be filed until after Karatz is sentenced Sept. 8. The sentence itself will also be a point of contention.
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