Mark Cuban Found Not Guilty of Insider Trading 48
schwit1 writes "Mark Cuban won a years-long fight with the federal government Wednesday as jurors decided that the billionaire basketball team owner did not commit insider-trading when he sold his shares in an Internet company in 2004. The jury in federal district court in Dallas said that the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to prove the key elements of its case, including the claim that Cuban agreed to keep certain information confidential and not trade on it. The nine-member jury deliberated about half a day before reaching the unanimous decision that ended the three-week trial."
Re: (Score:1)
Hell No.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEbwhWDYwM&feature=youtu.be [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:1)
Touche.
But I'm not THAT fuckign retarded as to read Breitbart.
Re: (Score:2)
Regardless (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Not really. The SEC typically catches insider trading by working their way up the chain specifically because they KNOW the low level flunkies can't afford the defense.
If you're genuinely innocent and the SEC accuses you of insider trading, you either turn into a squealer or suffer (social and financial) death by a thousand cuts.
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Ahhhh, America.
The country with the best justice money can buy.
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Son't worry -- we're working on it. In a few years, we'll be rolling out indentured servitude in exchange for a college education.
Such servants wont be afforded such rights by their minders. The rest wont have jobs and will be subject to labor camps.
Good (Score:3)
Now, hopefully he will work to normalize relations with Cuba.
HFT (Score:1)
Quick, someone post something stupid about HFT!
So... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
He founded a shitty .com company and sold it for billions back in the day. So I guess that's why.
It's widespread, but really hard to prove (Score:4, Insightful)
Even in the Martha Stewart case, they only got her on obstruction of justice. Hard to say whether Cuban was legit or not, all we know is that the evidence was not strong enough to convict.
The theory seems to be that insider trading is so widespread and difficult to prove that one of the government's strategies is to go after a few high profile 'celebrity' cases as a way to drive awareness among the populace. It probably gets your average Joe to think twice before trading on a tip from an executive friend higher up in the corporate ladder, but I suspect the people who really know what they're doing siphon millions out of the market daily.
Well, of course not (Score:1)
"failed to prove the key elements of its case, including the claim that Cuban agreed to keep certain information confidential"
Who would believe that Mark Cuban could keep his mouth shut, even if he said he would?
if you don't have money, you're in trouble (Score:2)
If you have money, you can mount a legal defense. If you don't have money, prosecutors can absolutely destroy you and your life even if you are innocent. There was a book detailing how everyone commits felonies because the federal criminal code, along with regulatory stuff, is so complex. It was called "Three Felonies a Day."
Basically, if a prosecutor wants to put you in jail, you're toast.
So good for Cuban.
This was a civil case (Score:2, Interesting)
This was a civil case, meaning that he was simply being asked to repay some money, not face jail time.
It also means he was up against the SEC in a spot where they only had to have "Preponderance of Evidence" instead of "Beyond Reason Doubt."
There must have been very little here.
Recap please (Score:2)
OK, didn't RTFA, but let's assume the following:
- insider trading is trading stock based on information obtained from insiders not available to the general public
- these rules are in place to give the general public the idea that stock trading is a "fair game"
- Cuban talked to the CEO of the company privately and suddenly decides to quickly get rid of the stock in that company
- A few days after the fact the company publishes "bad news" and stock price takes a dive.
Question: is the problem that the SEC co