Mark Cuban is one of the most influential owners and businessmen in the NBA, but that does not mean he can avoid an investigation by the SEC regarding insider trading.
According to Reuters.com, Cuban may face a probe from the SEC after losing a bid to throw out a U.S. regulator's civil fraud lawsuit that accuses him of insider trading. U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater in Dallas ruled in favor of the SEC and said that the department can continue with its four-year-old case against the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
The case stems from a November 2008 lawsuit that accuses Cuban of insider trading after selling his 6.3 percent stake in Mamma.com Inc for about $8 million in June 2004 after finding out that the company was planning a stock offering. The suit says Cuban avoided nearly $1 million in losses after selling the shares.
"We look forward to proceeding with our insider trading case against Mr. Cuban in court," SEC spokesman John Nester said
The Mavericks declined to comment, but the SEC said that Cuban was "very upset and angry after finding out that the stock would be sold at a discount, diluting the shares he owned.
"Well, now I'm screwed. I can't sell," Cuban told Faure, according to the SEC.
Cuban then sold his Mamma.com shares in June 2004, just before the company made the offering. It then went down 9.3 percent the next day.
Fitzwater wrote that Cuban's effort to dismiss the case was "in some respects a close one," but ultimately must fail.
Cuban is one of the richest owners in the NBA, as Forbes values him worth $2.4 billion.
