Billionaire Mark Cuban was victorious Wednesday when a federal jury in Dallas ruled that he did not commit insider trading when he dumped his stake in an Internet search engine company Mamma.com.
The CEO of Mamma.com testified that he gave Cuban advance notice of an upcoming stock offering that would reduce the value of his 6% stake. Cuban reportedly sold the shares several hours later – triggering a sell-off that drove down the value of the shares. The billionaire argued that he was not prohibited from selling his shares.
After a two-week civil trial, the nine-member jury needed only four hours of deliberation before concluding that the 55-year-old owner of the Dallas Mavericks did not commit insider trading.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been waging a five year battle. They issued this statement, “We respect the jury’s decision. While the verdict in this particular case is not the one we sought, it will not deter us from bringing and trying cases where we believe defendants have violated the federal securities laws.”
Besides his numerous business holdings, Cuban appears on the ABC television series ‘Shark Tank,’ now in its fifth season.
Photo: WENN