Bank of Montreal’s former top natural gas trader was ordered to pay $14.2-million (U.S.) in restitution on Monday after pleading guilty to charges that he inflated the value of his portfolio and conspired with others to deceive the bank. David Lee, 43, was spared prison time by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan in light of his years of co-operating with authorities investigating a trading scheme that contributed to a $853-million (Canadian) loss in Bank of Montreal’s commodities trading business for 2007. Prosecutors said beginning in 2003, Lee began deliberately overstating the value of positions in ... (full story)