Albany Insider Trading Lawyer

Clarify Your Stock Market Activity with The Kindlon Law Firm, PLLC

When you buy and sell stocks and securities, you want to make informed decisions. Unfortunately, having too much information can get you into trouble – especially if you or someone you love is close to a publicly traded company.

If you make a trade with access to confidential or non-public information about a company, you could be charged with insider trading. Navigating these charges can be scary and stressful, but The Kindlon Law Firm, PLLC is here to help. Our team has over 100 years of combined legal experience and takes a client-focused approach to each and every case.

If you have been charged with insider trading, do not hesitate to call us at (518) 444-4428 today.

What Is Insider Trading?

Insider trading is buying or selling stocks or securities based on inside information, or information that is not known to the public. You can understand insider trading by breaking down the term. An insider is an officer, director, 10% stockholder, or anyone who possesses inside information about a company (including an employee) – or anyone who receives “tips” about a company from an insider. Trading is buying or selling securities on the stock market. Once again, insider trading is using your role as an insider to make strategic sales and purchases on the stock market, and it is illegal.

Insider trading is a crime because all insiders have a fiduciary duty not to influence their company’s publicly traded stock price. If an insider tips a friend or family member, they pass on that fiduciary duty to whoever they share the insider information with. No one with inside information about a specific company may use that information to buy or sell that company’s stock.

All insiders have a certain degree of trust and confidence, and violating this trust and confidence is a crime, particularly when the insiders manipulate the stock market and profit.

As such, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) watches trades closely. The SEC Enforcement Division pays special attention to officers, directors, and stockholders, as well as their families, friends, and loved ones.

Insider trading can be difficult to prove, but if the SEC is investigating you or your loved one, they may already be building a case against you.

Start building your case by contacting our Albany insider trading attorney right away.

What Are the Penalties for Insider Trading?

Insider trading can result in fines, jail time, and professional consequences. Penalties can be up to 3 times your profits, so if you use insider information to make a $1 million trade, you could owe the SEC up to $3 million. In serious cases, you may also face jail time, and the SEC could forbid you from serving on the board of a publicly traded company.

Due to the serious penalties for insider trading, you should call a lawyer the moment you know you are under investigation. The Kindlon Law Firm, PLLC can help protect your freedom, your financial future, your reputation, and your career.

What Is an Example of Insider Trading?

Martha Stewart once went to federal prison after an insider trading scandal. Stewart had shares in a biopharmaceutical company called ImClone. The company was waiting on FDA approval for its drug, but insiders knew the drug was about to be rejected. With the rejection, the value of ImClone’s shares would drop drastically – and some insiders knew this. One insider allegedly shared the information with Stewart.

The day before the value of ImClone’s plummeted, Stewart sold nearly 4,000 shares and saved herself about $45,673. Because Stewart was allegedly “tipped” about the company’s imminent demise and acted on this tip, she was charged with insider trading. At the end of the trial, Stewart served 5 months in a federal corrections facility.

Is Insider Trading Ever Legal?

When companies change ownership or make large transactions, they must inform the SEC. As long as they inform the SEC properly, insiders can make moves on the stock market. Once information becomes public, it is no longer insider information. Fair access to information can maintain a fair marketplace, but sometimes the SEC steps in to ensure fairness – especially when companies are bought, sold, or change ownership and/or directors.

If you are a director, a major stock owner, or another “insider,” act carefully when changes to your company will affect the stock market. If you are unsure about anything, speak to an attorney.

Sometimes, traders do everything right but still wind up with questionable transactions and suspicions of insider trading. If you need to defend yourself from insider trading charges in upstate New York, look no further than The Kindlon Law Firm, PLLC.

We are highly respected in the legal community and can handle complex criminal litigation. Our team will always fight for you, and your initial consultation is free.

Call us at (518) 444-4428 or contact us online to schedule yours today.