GOP congressman charged with fraud, false statements
NEW YORK» A New York congressman and his son have been indicted for insider trading related to the shares of a biotech firm that U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, also bought shares in.
Republican U.S. Rep. Christopher Collins of western New York was arrested Wednesday on charges he fed inside information he gleaned from sitting on the board of a biotechnology company to his son, helping family and friends dodge hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses when bad news came out.
Collins, 68, is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. He was among the first two sitting members of Congress to endorse Trump’s candidacy for the White House.
Collins pleaded not guilty to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court. The indictment charges Collins, the congressman’s son and the father of the son’s fiancee with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI.
Prosecutors said the charges stem from Collins’ decision to share with his son insider information about Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited, a biotechnology company headquartered in Sydney, Australia, with offices in Auckland, New Zealand. Collins was the company’s largest shareholder, with nearly 17 percent of its shares, and sat on its board.
Many of his congressional colleagues also bought shares in Innate, including Lamborn and Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas. Lamborn and his wife bought stock in the company in 2016 and again in 2017, according to previous Denver Post reporting. A spokeswoman for Lamborn said Wednesday he has nothing new to say aside from past statements.
Lamborn’s office has previously said he “purchased the stock on the open market, at fair market value, following news media discussion about the company” and didn’t make any money from the investment.
No congressmen other than Collins are named in the indictment.
According to the indictment, Collins was attending the Congressional Picnic at the White House on June 22, 2017, when he received an email from the company’s chief executive saying that a trial of a drug the company developed to treat multiple sclerosis was a clinical failure.