Rep. Chris Collins Indicted for Insider Trading Scheme at White House Picnic

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), President Trump’s first congressional supporter, was indicted for an insider trading scheme involving Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotechnology company where he served on the board. On June 22, 2017, while attending a Congressional Picnic at the White House, Collins received an email revealing that the company’s multiple sclerosis drug MIS416 had failed a critical drug trial. Within seconds of receiving the email, Collins called his son Cameron, sharing material non-public information that allowed his son and associate Stephen Zarsky to sell their stock and avoid over $768,000 in potential losses. The scheme involved complex family and personal relationships, with Collins tipping his son and Zarsky (his son’s then-girlfriend’s father). Ultimately, Collins was sentenced to 26 months in federal prison, barred from serving as a public company officer or director, and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine. The case represented a significant prosecution under the 2012 STOCK Act, highlighting ongoing issues of congressional insider trading and ethics violations.