Former SEC attorney Spencer Barasch is expected to settle SEC and DOJ civil charges that he played a role in decisions to quash investigations of Stanford while at the SEC, and then later repeatedly tried to get permission to represent Stanford after leaving his SEC post. Barasch, who was the chief of enforcement in the SEC’s regional office in Fort Worth, Texas — the office that oversaw Stanford’s Houston-based operations, was accused by SEC Inspector General H. David Kotz of repeatedly derailing or downplaying investigations of Stanford.  After Barasch left the SEC in 2005, he repeatedly sought to represent Stanford even after the agency’s ethics office told him it was improper. Barasch represented Stanford anyway — briefly — in 2006. In his report, Kotz said that when he asked Barasch why he was so interested in representing Stanford, he replied, “Every lawyer in Texas and beyond is going to get rich over this case. Okay? And I hated being on the sidelines.” Under dual civil settlements with the SEC and the Justice Department that could be finalized as soon as this week, Barasch would pay a $50,000 fine and agree to a six-month ban on practicing before the SEC, the source said. It is the harshest penalty available under the law. The source said the settlement is unrelated to Stanford’s criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin on January 23 in Houston. Stanford, 61, faces 14 criminal counts. He has denied wrongdoing. Barasch, currently a partner with the law firm Andrews Kurth, did not immediately respond to calls or an e-mail seeking comment.  [Reuters 1/10/12]