At the Bents' fraud trial this afternoon, the prosecution wrapped up its case -- but not without extensive legal disputes and holdups.

To read the full, continuing saga of the collapse of the Reserve Primary Fund and the ensuing legal battle, see MFWire's living timeline.

This morning the jury heard the sometimes contentious testimony of former Reserve Management Company [profile] CIO Patrick Ledford; this afternoon, it was mostly extended bickering over the admissibility of various pieces of evidence.

In between these arguments, the SEC's attorneys played a few short telephone calls between the Reserve's institutional sales reps telling clients that despite the fund's Lehman holdings, Reserve Management Company would protect the $1.00 NAV.

And the prosecution called its final witness, an accountant with the SEC, who presented the jury with statistics based on Bruce Bent II's telephone log.

Beyond establishing how much time Bent II spent during the two days the fund was melting down on the phone with his father — sixty-nine calls, totaling over twelve hours — and his wife — twelve calls, one hour, forty minutes — it's not clear what purpose this testimony served.

"It's not a violation of securities laws to communicate with one's spouse, is it?" the Bents' attorney asked the accountant.

"I do not believe it is," was the reply.

With the SEC's turn over, the Bents will have a chance over the next few days to convince the jury that all the evidence should be viewed in this forgiving light. 

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