SEC Charges Mark Cuban With Insider Trading

by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 12:11 PM EST Comment 20 comments

Fronted by Luke Thomas.

Mavericks owner and HDNet founder Mark Cuban was charged this morning with insider trading, as filed by the SEC. He is accused of selling his stock in mamma.com when receiving insider information, which reportedly saved him over 750 thousand dollars. This could have major implications on the world of MMA in that Cuban's HDNet could be facing troubling times, with this charge piling on to a shaky economical situation. Cuban may also never be allowed to pursue his own MMA organization, as he likely would not be allowed to be involved in gaming or promoting a sanctioned sporting event after this is all said and done. He is also looking at serious jail time. And even though Dana White seems to spare him while smearing his competitors, this latest development may put a little smirk on his face.

An article about the situation is available at Sportsline.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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Read More: mark cuban, hdnet, dana white

Comments

This doesn’t sound good. Can anyone weigh in on the ramifications if he is found guilty?

by iiowyn on Nov 17, 2008 12:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

= Martha Stewart

…for reference.

by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 12:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not saying this is true, but I’ll post it so someone who knows can answer, but the articles say civil action.

In my mind civil action = fine, not jail, but I really have no idea how the SEC operates.

Martha Stewart was indicted, and this reads like he’s being sued, but I don’t know if that means he isn’t/won’t/can’t be charged with a crime in the future.

by Phildo on Nov 17, 2008 1:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, that was my implication. That he would be facing criminal charges in addition to the civil charges.

by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 1:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He’ll have to pay a fine. Any “jail” time would consist of a white collar motel, if at all. The ramifications for his MMA pursuit and HDNet are a little more serious.

by pud333 on Nov 17, 2008 12:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It’s a civil lawsuit so likely just a fine at worst.
For a guy worth 2.3billion it’s akin to a slap on the wrist.

by pr0cs on Nov 17, 2008 1:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

As long as it stays a civil charge he will avoid jail time but that doesn’t mean that they won’t charge him with the felony at a later date.

This is what he is currently facing:

The SEC is seeking a court judgment against Cuban finding that he violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, an injunction against future violations, an unspecified civil penalty and restitution of the losses Cuban allegedly avoided.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8808030?MSNHPHMA

by who me on Nov 17, 2008 1:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And to be fair… I don’t personally know the ramifications of this charge as it concerns his ability to sanction sporting events. It’s possible that the NBA would allow him to continue his ownership, but that a boxing commission would reject his application for an event. State boxing commissions are actually much more strict than profressional sports leagues, as crazy as that is (being that they are actually federally regulated).

by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 12:32 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I’m just glad that mamma.com is a search engine, and not some mma thing. That was my initial fear when I saw the news story.

by mythbuster on Nov 17, 2008 12:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I actually didn't make the MMA connection in the name

until the second read through the article. I had more of an image of Cuban in a dolly-hat suckling off some 90 year old’s breast. Dunno why I decided to share that…

There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.

by misterjonez on Nov 17, 2008 12:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m kind of disturbed that you chose to :P

by mythbuster on Nov 17, 2008 12:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, me too

But I heard it on ESPN this morning and they made it immediately clear.

by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 1:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Correct me if I am wrong...

Didn’t Cuban “make” that documentary “The Smartest Guys in the Room” the Enron story?

How does spending a couple of million to produce a documentary that lambastes insider traders; then doing it yourself to the tune of $750,000 make any damn sense?

Being on the internet gives me a right...nay a responsibility to bitch about things

by beery_pbr on Nov 17, 2008 1:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

A lot of sense unless you get caught

by iiowyn on Nov 17, 2008 2:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Male Senators that hit on their male pages but are vehemently against gay rights might have something to say for that.

by Blackout612 on Nov 17, 2008 2:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The guys at Enron completely cooked their books, misleading creditors, investors, employees, etc. in the process. They were involved in energy trading which I’m not qualified to explain, but it’s different than trading stocks. The size and scope of Enron is also much greater that an alleged insider trading charge valued at $750,000.

Now, I’m not saying that doing what Cuban allegedly did is okay. They’re just different. I don’t believe the ramifications of this charge are as far reaching as Enron. Of course, it would be hypocritical of Cuban if he is, in fact, guilty. I just don’t see the two acts as being equivalent and wanted to point that out.

by Cannon Jacques on Nov 17, 2008 2:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yea it is a very different situation, Lay and Skilling faced a 50+ charges indictment where insider trading was one of the (lesser) charges. It would be the same if Cuban was charged with insider trading and 50 other serious federal crimes like money laundering, bank fraud and securities fraud.

by who me on Nov 17, 2008 3:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not even close to being similar. Not even close.

by mythbuster on Nov 17, 2008 3:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This is like me stealing a nickel.

750k to Cuban is chump change. While these guys don’t get rich by throwing money down the drain, i have a hard time comprehending why he would risk so much for so little.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 17, 2008 5:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Three quarters of a million dollars is never chump change no matter how much money you do or don’t have. If a billionaire though of a million dollars as chump change he wouldn’t stay a billionaire for long.

by who me on Nov 17, 2008 6:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs