SAC says takes responsibility for those guilty of insider trade

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steven A. Cohen's hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors said in a statement Monday it takes responsibility "for the handful of men who pleaded guilty and whose conduct gave rise to SAC's liability" in a long-running insider trading probe. "The tiny fraction of wrongdoers does not represent the 3,000 honest men and women who have worked at the firm during the past 21 years," SAC said, adding that the hedge fund "never encouraged, promoted or tolerated insider trading." The embattled money manager will plead guilty in federal court and pay a record $1.8 billion to settle charges stemming from an insider trading investigation that lasted more than five years, prosecutors said on Monday. The two sides reached a settlement agreement which, if approved by a judge, would also resolve a civil forfeiture action against SAC and its affiliates, prosecutors said. Cohen, one of Wall Street's best known traders, has not been personally charged with any crime and will likely continue managing some $9 billion of his own money through a family office once his hedge fund's plea deal is cleared by the courts. (Reporting by Katya Wachtel; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)