The bizarre reports, later debunked, of a Mideast firm bidding to take over Harman International has led to freezing of $5 million in assets and charges from the SEC.

The bizarre reports, later debunked, of a Mideast firm bidding to take over Harman International has led to freezing of $5 million in assets and charges from the SEC. And the target of the investigation was found dead over the weekend in an apparent suicide.

According to the Washington Post, the SEC has charged that the "bid" was a hoax, and Kuwaiti trader Hazem Khalid Al-Braikan is responsible. Al-Braikan, according to the government's complaint, conspired with three other Mideast based firms to profit from false reports of offers for U.S. companies.

Al-Braikan, the Financial Times reported Monday, has been found dead in his home, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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