Fraud crimes are taken very seriously and can result in felony charges on the federal or state level. An Albany felony attorney can provide you with representation in the event that you are charged with a fraud offense.
Many different types of misconduct can result in charges, and those who are accused of wrongdoing are often accused of violating multiple laws. Just recently, for example, New York Representative Chris Collins has been arrested for securities fraud. In addition to the representative, his son and his son’s future father-in-law were also charged with insider trading.
New York Representative Arrested on Felony Fraud Charges
Federal authorities have accused Representative Collins of multiple different types of misconduct resulting in fraud charges.
The Office of Congressional ethics released a report last year indicating that the representative likely violated the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives when he purchased stock at a discount that was not available to members of the public and that Collins was able to purchase only because of his status in the House.
Collins has also been accused of sharing non-public information in connection with an Australia-based company that he was a board member of. The Australian company, Innate, was developing a multiple sclerosis drug in 2017 and when the drug failed in clinic trials, the stock fell 92 percent.
After Collins learned of the failed clinic trial, and before it become public knowledge, Collins reportedly shared information about the failure with his son, who was a stock holder of Innate at the time. The son then shared this information with other stock holders, including his then-girlfriend’s (now fiancée’s) father and a few other company stockholders.
Sharing non-pubic information like this is a violation of insider trading laws. His alleged decision to share this information enabled his son, his son’s father-in-law, and the other stock holders with the inside information to quickly sell their stocks before prices fell. They avoided substantial financial loss.
The representative, his son, and the father-in-law have now all been charged with making false statements to the FBI, as well as with conspiracy crimes, wire fraud, and securities fraud. In addition to the federal felony charges, a civil action has been filed against all three by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Representative Collins pled not guilty to the accusations and was released on a $500,000 bond. He has indicated that he believes he is innocent of the charges against him and says that he will still run for re-election and remain on the ballot during the November 2018 election. He asserts that he has been accused of insider trading despite never having bought or sold a single share of stock and vigorously denies all accusations against him.
This is just one of many situations where alleged misconduct results in felony charges on a federal level. An Albany felony attorney can provide representation to defendants who have been accused of misconduct and can help them to fight vigorously for their freedom as they face accusations that could derail their future.
