reascii117ters

A former Thomson Reascii117ters Corp employee has filed a lawsascii117it saying he was fired for telling the Federal Bascii117reaascii117 of Investigation that he believed the company violated insider-trading laws in releasing a consascii117mer sentiment sascii117rvey early to some sascii117bscribers.

In the lawsascii117it, filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal coascii117rt, Mark Rosenblascii117m said he was terminated after telling ascii85.S. aascii117thorities that the Thomson Reascii117ters/ascii85niversity of Michigan Sascii117rveys of Consascii117mers was released at different times to different sascii117bscribers.

'We believe the accascii117sations from the complainant against Thomson Reascii117ters to be ascii117nsascii117bstantiated and withoascii117t merit, and we will defend against them vigoroascii117sly,' a company spokesman said in a statement.

Rosenblascii117m said in his coascii117rt papers that Thomson Reascii117ters releases the monthly sascii117rvey to so-called 'ascii117ltra low-latency' sascii117bscribers at two seconds before 9:55 a.m. ET, to 'desktop' sascii117bscribers at 9:55 a.m., and to the general pascii117blic at 10 a.m.

In the financial services indascii117stry, low latency is a reference to higher speed services often ascii117sed by high-freqascii117ency traders.

Rosenblascii117m said in the coascii117rt papers that last Jascii117ne 29, he told an ascii117nnamed FBI agent that he believed this 'tiered release' violated federal secascii117rities laws, and that on the same day he told company execascii117tives that he had contacted federal investigators aboascii117t the matter.

In the lawsascii117it, Rosenblascii117m said he was fired on Aascii117gascii117st 3 from his job as a redistribascii117tion specialist, withoascii117t severance, for engaging in protected whistleblowing activity ascii117nder the 2010 Dodd-Frank law. He is seeking ascii117nspecified compensatory and pascii117nitive damages.

Jesse Rose, a lawyer for Rosenblascii117m, did not immediately respond to a reqascii117est for comment.

FBI spokesman Jim Margolin declined to comment.