Federal Insider Trading Defense Lawyer
Insider trading, a federal crime, is typically prosecuted in a federal court, often in downtown Los Angeles. This involves the misuse of non-public information to gain an unfair advantage in the stock market, resulting in financial losses for others.
If you're doing this, then obviously somebody's going to be out money, and somebody is going to be taken advantage of, so you're not allowed to use this inside information that you might have to benefit in any way.
Some people think that they can clean themselves from the insider trader aspect of giving this information if they give it to somebody else, and that other person uses it and maybe gives them a kickback or a piece of the action.
Conspiracy to Commit Insider Trading
This would be a conspiracy to commit insider trading and would be prosecuted by the federal government. The Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, gets involved. They're looking at somebody who somehow gets some information related to a stock and then uses that information or gives that information to somebody else so that person can make money.
The government, as the overseer of the stock market, is vigilant against any form of insider trading. They will not tolerate any attempts to gain an unfair advantage through the misuse of non-public information.
So, if you're charged with this insider trading crime and face time in custody, you'll want to consider the amount of the alleged loss, your role in acquiring the information, and how you acquired it.
Who did you acquire it from? And one of the biggest things is how much money you or someone else gained by utilizing this insider information. In the federal government, there's a whole structure as far as federal sentencing guidelines go where they're going to look at precisely what charges you're guilty of, and then they're going to go next to how much money you obtained. How much loss was there?
Factors for Sentencing
That's going to dictate what range you're in as far as the sentence, and then a bunch of other factors will apply depending on the circumstances of the case. The judge will consider your attorney's arguments and their position paper regarding a federal sentence.
They'll also look at the probation department and see what they have to say about you, your background and history, and what they think about the crime. Lastly, they're going to listen to the prosecutors to see what they have to say about it—what their position is—and then the judge will make the final decision.
So, in any federal case – whether it be an insider trading case or otherwise – the judge usually asks people at the time of the plea if anybody has promised you a sentence in this federal case. And, of course, the answer has to be no because no one can promise a specific sentence in a federal case.
What you're doing is you're pleading to a base offense. Then there might be some other characteristics to that offense that apply enhancements, different things, accepting responsibility, and ultimately, the judge is going to be left with you inside of a range.
This range is determined based on your history, the reports the judge reviews, and the judge's view of what you did, what you gained, and how sophisticated you were. The judge will then decide the appropriate punishment within this range.
You want to be prepared long before this. If you're involved in an insider trading case in Los Angeles or anywhere in the county, it's crucial to thoroughly exhaust all possible defenses.
Once you've done so, if you've made the decision that it's in your best interest to work out a plea agreement with the government, you're going to sit down with your attorney and start to make the right decisions related to what you can do in your case and what makes the most sense.
