Today Federal Investigators indicated Rep Chris Collins his son Cameron Collins and Stephen Zarsky on 11 felony charges each on instider trading and lying to Federal Authorities. Each charges range from 7 counts of securities fraud and 1 count each of wire fraud, making false statements, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Rep Collins was a top board member on Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian pharmaceutical biotechnology company. All three are also facing civil charges by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 2014 Innate begin testing for a drug hoping to treat multiple sclerosis. It would have been a big hit. Their are not many treatments available to treat multiple sclerosis as of today.
In June 2017 Rep Collins received an email from Innate’s chief executive that secondary multiple sclerosis drug MIS416 had fail its trail and to keep it a secret.
According to the indictment Rep Collins called his son Cameron Collins several times and on the seventh call Rep Collins informed him of the news that the drug had failed. In which Cameron told his fiancée, Zarsky and a friend. Stephen Zarsky notified his sister, brother, and friend.
According to the indictment Rep Collins never traded his stocks and lost millions of dollars. Prosecutors said others avoided losing after the drug trail was announced to the public.
Cameron Collins sold 1.4 million shares of Innate stock. Which saved him $768,000.
Rep Collins was ask on April 25, 2018 by federal investigators about the alleged crime. Which he lied during the interview that he didn’t know anything about the tip off of the failing drug trail.
Rep Collins maintains his innocents.
Attorneys for Collins and Zarsky said their clients are innocent.
“Saying they will “mount a vigorous defense to clear his good name.”
“We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated”.
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