Ex-Congressman, Others Settle With SEC Over Insider Trading
As a result, former Rep. Christopher Collins will be barred from acting as an officer or director of any public company.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a settlement with former Rep. Christopher Collins, R-N.Y., over an insider-trading case involving an Australian biotech firm.
As part of the settlement, Collins will be barred from serving as an officer or director of public companies in the future, according to the SEC. In addition, his son Cameron Collins and Stephen Zarsky (the father of Cameron’s fiancée) will pay back avoided losses and interest of nearly $800,000.
“Insider trading undermines investor confidence in the fairness and integrity of the securities markets,” according to Stephanie Avakian, co-director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. “Today’s settlements, along with the previous criminal pleas, should deter others who may be tempted to engage in this pernicious conduct.”
The former congressman had been accused of sharing confidential information with his son about Innate Immunotherapeutics before news of a failed trial for a multiple sclerosis drug was made public in 2017.
The senior Collins stepped down as the representative for New York’s 27th Congressional District in September. The three individuals pleaded guilty to criminal charges the following month, with sentencing for the former representative expected in January.
Zarsky settled the matter with the SEC “in order to begin resolving matters with the government,” his lawyer, Mauro Wolfe of Duane Morris LLP, told the The Wall Street Journal.
— Check out NY Congressman Collins and Son Charged With Insider Trading on ThinkAdvisor.