Before suing billionaire investor Leon Cooperman last month, the SEC reportedly demanded that the outspoken trader pay an $8 million fine and accept a temporary suspension from the hedge fund industry as settlement for the insider trading case.  Cooperman, however, has shown no signs of wanting to negotiate.  He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and he said his firm met with the SEC before it filed the lawsuit to explain why its allegations were “totally unwarranted.”

Cooperman, 73, has described his fight against the regulator as a battle for his legacy, arguing that any fine is irrelevant because it would be far less than he annually donates to charity. But an industry suspension could have significant consequences, potentially affecting his role at Omega Advisors, the New York hedge fund he’s built over more than 2 decades through savvy stock picks.

It’s uncertain how long Cooperman would have been sidelined had he agreed to the SEC’s proposed suspension, which is one of the stiffest sanctions the agency can levy against individuals.  Steven A. Cohen agreed to a 2-year bar on managing client money in January to resolve allegations that he failed to supervise a convicted insider trader at SAC Capital Advisors. The SEC had initially sought a lifetime ban against Cohen after suing him in July 2013. 

Cooperman is charged with having earned about $4 million in illicit gains in 2010 by using his status as one of Atlas Pipeline Partners’ largest shareholders to obtain confidential information from a company executive. The SEC said the Bronx native purchased securities in the energy company before it announced the sale of an asset, which caused the shares to jump 31%.

In a Tuesday statement, Cooperman said the “damage” the case had inflicted on his firm has “dramatically impacted the opportunity for professional growth for my 43 partners and associates.” He also said Omega now manages $4 billion, down from the $5.4 billion that the firm’s website shows it oversaw at the end of August.