Former hedge fund managers for the now-defunct Bear Stearns have been acquitted of fraud, according to the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York. Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin were the former managers of two funds that collapsed during the meltdown on Wall Street in the mid-months of 2007, and lost their financial investors a total of $1.6 billion during the collapse.

The men were brought up on charges of securities and wire fraud, as well as conspiracy, in June of 2008. Mr. Cioffi still faces charges of insider trading, and both men are still looking at civil lawsuits filed by companies that claim the two mismanaged their funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased Bear Stearns in a government-sponsored sale after their 2008 collapse. Tannin and Cioffi are now being called “the scapegoats of Wall Street”, making it less likely for other Wall Street executives involved in the financial meltdown to be brought up on charges.

Bear Stearns fund managers cleared