Mark Cuban Hit With Insider-Trading Charges

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was charged today with insider trading, the Dallas Morning News reports. The government alleges that, in 2004, Cuban spoke with the CEO of a company in which he held shares, and was told, confidentially, of a new stock offering that would dilute the value of his holdings. “Well, now I’m screwed,” Cuban allegedly said. “I can’t sell.”

But sell he did. “Less than four hours later, Mr. Cuban betrayed that trust by placing an order to sell all of his shares,” a Securities and Exchange Commission official said. “It is fundamentally unfair for someone to use access to nonpublic information to improperly gain an edge on the market.” (More Mark Cuban stories.)