Cuban's Insider Trading Trial Heads To Jury
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - UPDATE 10/16/2013, 2:42 pm : CBS 11's Steve Pickett confirmed that Mark Cuban was cleared of insider trading charges on Wednesday afternoon. More Soon...
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Two men and seven women began deliberating the fate of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on Wednesday in a Dallas. Cuban is facing allegations that he violated insider trading laws when he sold his stock in online search company Mamma.com.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Cuban of using the information that he received from the company's CEO in order to dump $7.9 million in stock. According to the government, Cuban had an unfair -- and illegal -- advantage over other company investors, and then lied about why he sold.
But the main witness for the SEC in their case did not even show up for the trial. Prosecutors instead used video of the company's CEO that had been recorded in November 2011. During closing arguments, Cuban's lawyers repeatedly pointed out that the CEO declined to come to Dallas from Montreal.
The government said that Cuban broke a confidentiality deal in 2004 when he sold his shares of Mamma.com. The company's CEO had just told Cuban about a pending stock offering that would have hurt Cuban financially. Cuban testified that he never agreed to keep information from the CEO private.
After three weeks of testimony, this case ultimately comes down to which side the jury believes more.
Cuban does not face criminal charges in this case. If found guilty, the SEC wants him to give up $750,000 in losses that he avoided by selling his shares. They also want him to pay a civil penalty.
Outside of the courthouse, Cuban deflected questions about the case. "I've got to get to Indianapolis," he said. "The Mavs have got a game and, you know me, that's the important stuff."
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