Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to felony charges related to insider trading, two years after dismissing the allegations as a “witch hunt.”
Collins resigned Monday amid reports of his guilty plea, the Associated Press reported.
All three face charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. All three are expected to change their pleas, though it’s unclear which exact charges they will plead guilty to.
Collins served on the board of a small Australian biotech company called Innate Immunotherapeutics. He allegedly told his son and Zarsky about the unpublicized trial failure of a drug the company had developed, which would later cause stock prices to plummet 92 percent.
Cameron and Zarsky both unloaded their shares before the stock tanked, thereby avoiding $768,000 in losses, according to an indictment.
OOPS! This was from a MONTH AGO.
Today's "Witch Hunt" Rep is Duncan HUNTER.
Yep - it sure gets confusing!
See story above
Today's "Witch Hunt" Rep is Duncan HUNTER.
Yep - it sure gets confusing!
See story above
🎵Another one bites the dust!
After calling the charges a "witch hunt" - 🤔 - when he was first arrested two years ago, he is now pleading guilty and has resigned.
POLITICS
The Republican congressman resigned Monday. He previously dismissed the charges as “meritless” and the result of a “witch hunt.”
Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to felony charges related to insider trading, two years after dismissing the allegations as a “witch hunt.”
Collins resigned Monday amid reports of his guilty plea, the Associated Press reported.
Collins, his son Cameron, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron’s fiancée, had all initially pleaded not guilty after the FBI arrested them in August 2018.
Federal court records show Collins is scheduled to appear for a “change of plea hearing” at 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. Cameron and Zarsky are scheduled to appear for similar hearings Thursday.
All three face charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements. All three are expected to change their pleas, though it’s unclear which exact charges they will plead guilty to.
Collins served on the board of a small Australian biotech company called Innate Immunotherapeutics. He allegedly told his son and Zarsky about the unpublicized trial failure of a drug the company had developed, which would later cause stock prices to plummet 92 percent.
Cameron and Zarsky both unloaded their shares before the stock tanked, thereby avoiding $768,000 in losses, according to an indictment.
At the time of his arrest, Collins told reporters the charges were “meritless” and that he would “mount a vigorous defense in court to clear my name.”
The charges incensed President Donald Trump, who attacked then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for allowing the indictments to move forward, brazenly suggesting the Justice Department should prioritize party affiliation over criminality.
Collins owned 37.9 million shares, worth just over $20 million, in the company before things went south.
The three-term congressman was narrowly reelected in 2018 by less than one percentage point. Lawmakers convicted of felonies aren’t barred from holding their seats, but they aren’t allowed to vote.
WE have work to do!
Let's work together to restore ETHICS, INTEGRITY, HONESTY and IMPARTIAL OVERSIGHT to our government.
Elected office is not an opportunity for WEALTH!
US senators have reportedly piled up to
$96 million into stocks, including companies
they regulate
Sep. 20, 2019
- 51 US senators and their spouses have up to $96 million invested in corporate stocks, according to an analysis by Sludge and the Guardian, raising conflict of interest concerns.
- Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, and Sen. Jacky Rosen own significant amounts of stock in companies they oversee.
- Together, 10 members of the Senate banking committee hold up to $8 million worth of stock in finance, securities, and real estate companies.
- View Markets Insider's homepage for more stories.
Fifty-one US senators and their spouses have up to $96 million invested in corporate stocks, raising conflict of interest concerns because many of them could pass laws that help those businesses and thus enrich themselves.
An analysis by Sludge and the Guardian — a deep dive you can check out here — looked at the senators' disclosed stakes totaling $28 million to $96 million across finance, defense, health, communications and electronics, and energy and natural resources companies.
Members of Congress aren't legally barred from owning stock in companies they oversee, but having a vested interest in their success could affect their impartiality and willingness to pass laws that hurt those businesses.
Legislators are under mounting pressure to crack down on predatory lending, abuse of user data, climate change, sweetheart military deals, prescription drug prices and the opioid crisis. Senators' stakes in banks, tech giants, fossil-fuel companies, defense contractors, and healthcare giants could temper their desire to tackle those issues.
The median investment range was between $100,000 and $365,000, Sludge and the Guardian said. The most popular stocks included Apple, Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and Wells Fargo. The biggest single investment was Sen. John Hoeven's stake in Westbrand — a private holding company for banks — which is worth between $5 million and $25 million.
Several lawmakers hold shares in companies they oversee, the analysis found. Sen. Richard Shelby owns between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock in Tuscaloosa Title Company, a private real estate insurance firm, despite sitting on Senate housing and insurance subcommittees. Nine other members of the Senate banking committee hold financial stocks including Sen. Doug Jones, Sen. John Kennedy, and Sen. Robert Menendez.
The trend extends beyond banking. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito owns substantial stakes in Microsoft, Intel, AT&T, and Verizon, despite sitting on technology and consumer protection subcommittees. Sen. Jacky Rosen, who also sits on those subcommittees, owns up to $480,000 worth of Amazon, AT&T, and Adobe stock.
