Mavericks owner Cuban found not guilty of insider trading
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was found not guilty by jurors Wednesday that he did not commit insider-trading when he sold most of the shares in an Internet company he was a majority shareholder of in 2004, according to media reports.
The victory over the federal government in federal district court in Dallas should end a lengthy battle for Cuban, who had been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission that Cuban committed a number of violations of SEC law, including trading on nonpublic information to sell nearly $8 million of stock on Mamma.com, a Canadian-based search engine, in 2004.
The nine-member jury deliberated just four hours before issuing its decision in a trial that had lasted three weeks for the Mavericks' owner and star of the TV reality show "Shark Tank."
Had he been found guilty, Cuban would have been forced to pay $750,000 in losses plus penalties. Because it was a civil lawsuit, Cuban would not have faced any jail time if found guilty.
Cuban was first sued by the SEC in 2008. But after Cuban countered with an aggressive defense, claiming he was targeted for both his wealth and outspoken political views, the case was dismissed in 2009.
The SEC appealed and the decision was overturned by U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Fitzwater, who also presided over the retrial that ended Wednesday.
