Insider Trading Prosecution Threatened by Court Decision

As there is no precise legal definition of insider trading, it is largely up to the courts to decide where to draw the line on what is legal.
Insider Trading Prosecution Threatened by Court Decision
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara addresses members of the media regarding State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015 in New York. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
Updated:

A federal court refused Friday to reconsider a ruling that dealt a blow to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and the prosecution of insider trading on Wall Street. The decision may limit insider trading prosecution in the future and threaten past convictions.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one-paragraph ruling denying a petition from Bharara’s office in the Justice Department. The ruling stated that neither a three-judge panel, which made the original ruling in December, nor the court would hear the case again.

The December ruling had reversed the 2012 convictions of portfolio managers Anthony Chiasson, based in New York, and Todd Newman, based in Massachusetts, ending Bharara’s long winning streak of over 80 convictions for Wall Street insider trading. Chiasson had been sentenced to 6.5 years in prison, while Newman was sentenced to 4.5 years.

Shannon Liao
Shannon Liao
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Shannon Liao is a native New Yorker who attended Vassar College and the Bronx High School of Science. She writes business and tech news and is an aspiring novelist.
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