NY Republican congressman Christopher Collins, son charged with insider trading

An influential New York congressman, who was the first House Republican to endorse Donald Trump for president, has been charged by federal prosecutors along with his son of insider trading.

Christopher Collins, 68 the US Representative for New York’s 27th Congressional District, his son, Cameron Collins, 25 and a third individual, Stephen Zarsky, 66 have been charged by federal prosecutors as well as by the Securities and Exchange Commission for participating in a scheme to commit insider trading relating to securities of Innate Immunotherapeutics (Innate), an Australian biotechnology company on whose Board of Directors the senior Collins served.

As alleged in the indictment, in June 2017, Christopher Collins, who possessed material, non-public information through his service on Innate’s board of directors, betrayed his duties of trust and confidence to Innate by providing inside information to his son about confidential drug trial results so that his son and others, including his fiancee’s father Zarsky, could trade before the drug trial results were publicly announced. As a result the illegal tips, Cameron Collins, Zarsky and others who received the inside information avoided a total of approximately USD 768,000 in losses.

When later interviewed by the FBI, the three made false statements to cover up their participation in the insider trading scheme. They are each charged with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to the FBI.

All three defendants surrendered on Thursday morning and will be later arraigned before United States District Judge Vernon Broderick in federal court in the Southern District of New York. They all face a minimum of 20 years in prison on the various charges.