Indicted Congressman Collins Resigns Ahead of Plea Change in Insider Trading Case
U.S. Rep. Christopher Collins, who pleaded not guilty earlier this month to a superseding indictment, is expected to enter his change of plea Tuesday afternoon in a Manhattan courtroom, with his son Cameron and Stephen Zarsky to follow on Thursday.
September 30, 2019 at 01:51 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
U.S. Rep. Christopher Collins, the upstate Republican congressman and early supporter of President Donald Trump, reportedly resigned his office Monday after court documents showed he expected to plead guilty in a federal insider trading case involving his son and another co-defendant.
Collins, who pleaded not guilty to a superseding indictment earlier this month, is expected to enter his change of plea Tuesday afternoon in a Manhattan courtroom, with his son Cameron and Stephen Zarsky to follow on Thursday.
The Washington Post reported Monday afternoon that the four-term congressman from western New York had resigned his post ahead of the guilty plea.
All three were originally charged last year in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in a scheme related to Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company where Collins sat on the board of directors.
Prosecutors alleged that Collins tipped Cameron and Zarsky, his fiancee's father, to failed clinical testing of a multiple sclerosis drug, allowing his son and Zarsky to dump their shares before the information went public. Last month, prosecutors filed a streamlined indictment in an effort to speed up the case, which was scheduled for trial in February.
The men all pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Sept. 12 on the revised charges.
Collins and his team had planned to appeal a federal judge's ruling that he was not entitled to see materials they claimed would show that investigators violated Collins' rights under the Constitution's speech or debate clause, which protects members of Congress from prosecution based on statements they make as a part of legislative activities.
Prosecutors, however, expressed concern that an interlocutory appeal would be used as a tool for delaying the trial.
An appeal of that decision could have pushed Collins' trial back until next summer, causing U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick to consider trying Zarsky and Cameron Collins separately from the the congressman. The defendants had pushed back against the idea, saying they preferred to all be tried together.
Collins announced last August that he would suspend his bid for a fourth congressional term in the wake of of the insider trading allegations but later resumed his campaign, narrowly winning reelection to the House.
Read More:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Water Cooler Discussions': US Judge Questions DOJ Request in Google Search Case
3 minute readDemocratic State AGs Revel in Role as Last Line of Defense Against Trump Agenda
7 minute readBig Law Communications, Media Attorneys Brace for Changes Under Trump
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Friday Newspaper
- 2Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 3Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 4NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 5A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250