FBI arrests GOP congressman on insider trading charges
- Rep. Chris Collins, a New York Republican, was arrested and charged with securities fraud by the FBI.
- Federal prosecutors say Collins engaged in insider trading of the stock of Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company.
- Collins was a board member at Innate.
- A congressional ethics report in 2017 found that the congressman was able to buy discounted Innate stock that was not available to the public.
Rep. Chris Collins, a New York Republican, was arrested Wednesday by the FBI and indicted on allegations of securities fraud.
According to the indictment, Collins passed nonpublic information about a tiny Australian biotech company, Innate Immunotherapeutics, to his son Cameron that was then used to make timely trades of stock. Cameron also gave that information to Stephen Zarsky, his fiancee's father, the indictment says. Prosecutors allege the trades were made prior to the release of a clinical trial for on of Innate's drugs in development.
Collins' stock trading activities came under scrutiny in 2017, when it was revealed that the congressman recommended Innate to several colleagues, including former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. Collins was a board member of the company and was Innate's largest shareholder as of June 2017.
In October 2017, the Office of Congressional Ethics determined that Collins may have violated House rules and federal law with his trading activities.
"Representative Collins may have also purchased discounted Innate stock that was not available to the public and that was offered to him based on his status as a Member of the House of Representatives," the report said. "If Representative Collins purchased discounted stock that was not available to the public and that was offered to him based on his status as a Member of the House of Representatives, then he may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law."
Collins, who represents New York's 27th congressional district, has served in Congress since 2013. He was President Donald Trump's first congressional backer in the 2016 election cycle.
A press conference by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York regarding the charges is expected later Wednesday.
This is a developing story...