Attorneys In Jacksonville Represent Those Accused Of Insider Trading

Determined defense for your illegal-investment charges

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), illegal insider trading  can be defined as “buying or selling a security, in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and confidence, while in possession of material, nonpublic information about the security.”  The SEC, the government agency charged with investigating and prosecuting individuals and corporate entities suspected of committing insider-trading and other investment-related violations, has made insider-trading enforcement a priority. If you’re being investigated for or have already been charged with this type of white-collar crime, your priority should be to secure an experienced legal team with the resources and ability to provide you with a solid defense.

It is vital that you safeguard your rights.  Never speak to a federal agent alone.  Always get a lawyer to protect yourself.  Don’t think that if you have nothing to hide you can convince a federal agent you are innocent. Our Jacksonville criminal defense attorneys with Fallgatter Catlin & Varon, P.A. have both the experience of defending clients accused of insider trading and the knowledge of how the SEC will prosecute your case. We begin by spending the time necessary to completely understand what kind of trading you were involved in (because not all insider trading is illegal), what motivated it, and what your relationship was to the company involved. We also know that in many insider-trading cases, the evidence is largely circumstantial; if the prosecution fails to establish every one of its elements, we can seek to have your charges dismissed.

Legal vs. Illegal Insider Trading

An “insider” can be any corporate officer, director or any employee who buys or sells stock in his or her own company. Employees of publicly traded companies who own stock in their own firm or have stock options often have access to information not made known to the public, such as a merger or the appointment of a new CEO. Their “inside” knowledge can be acted upon legally as long as they wait to make trades once that information becomes public, giving them no unfair investing advantage.

Illegal insider trading, on the other hand, occurs when insiders act upon knowledge that hasn’t been made public.  And in the SEC’s definition, an insider can be anyone, even someone outside of a company, who has “temporary” or “constructive” access to such information.
In addition to buying or selling securities illegally with inside information, insider-trading violations include:

• “Tipping,” or offering such information to someone else
• The person receiving that information making trades based on it
• Securities trading by others who misappropriate such information

The penalties for insider-trading convictions can include up to 20 years in prison for criminal securities fraud, as well as significant prison time for mail and wire fraud. The SEC can also inflict severe financial penalties, including payback of all trading profits.  If you’ve been charged with insider trading, contact our experienced legal team as soon as possible.

Contact an experienced Jacksonville white-collar crime defense lawyer immediately

Contact us online or call the offices of Fallgatter Catlin & Varon, P.A. today at 904-353-5800 to schedule a consultation at no cost or obligation to discuss your insider-trading case.