Former US Congressman Stephen Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison on Tuesday for insider trading — despite pleading for mercy from a Manhattan judge by claiming he lives on the “honor system” of his Indiana hometown.
“My life is a good deed. That’s all I’ve ever done,” Buyer, 64, said during a hearing in Manhattan federal court where he was ordered to report to prison on Nov. 28 to begin serving his sentence after a jury convicted him of securities fraud.
Buyer’s invitation to Judge Richard Berman to learn more about him by visiting his hometown of Noblesville, IN., came after the judge found Buyer — a Republican who represented Indiana in Congress from 1993 to 2011 — “repeatedly” lied during his trial. .
Evidence during the two-week proceeding showed Buyer illegally bought shares in Sprint after being tipped off about the telecom giant’s $23 billion merger with T-Mobile while golfing with T-Mobile executive Tony Russo in 2018.
A year later, Buyer, who had worked as a lobbyist and consultant after leaving office, bought shares in the management consulting company Navigant.
He was informed by his client, another consultant called Guidehouse Inc., that Guidehouse would soon acquire Navigant in a separate merger.
The buyer continues to remain innocent despite being convicted of securities fraud. Alec Tabak
Buyer made more than $320,000 for himself, his relatives and a woman he had an affair with from the illegal trade, prosecutors said.
He was ordered Tuesday to pay $354,027 in restitution and pay a $10,000 fine.
Prosecutors, during Buyer’s trial, presented evidence of ex pol trading messages with colleagues using an encrypted app in an apparent effort to cover up the illegal trade.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Buyer, wearing a dark blue suit, sat silently shaking his head as the judge accused him of repeatedly lying at trial — including claiming that he didn’t talk “business” with Russo during their golf game in March 2018.
Nor did the jury buy Buyer’s defense that the trade was the result of legitimate market research.
Buyer is a lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran who served as the House prosecutor during the impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton in 1998. He is expected to lose his law license as a result of the ruling.REUTERS
Prosecutors have rejected a 36-month sentence, arguing that Buyer’s decades of public service showed he knew the illegal trade was wrong.
Meanwhile, the buyer’s attorney has urged community service and said Tuesday that the former congressman would appeal the decision.
When asked to speak to the court, Buyer did not apologize, or speak directly about the case.
Instead, he grew up in the Hoosier State, where, he said, someone buying a dozen ears of sweet corn for $6 off the back of a driverless trailer can add that money to a trash can with $300 already in it without worrying that someone will steal the money.
After being notified, Buyer bought shares in Sprint shortly before the company’s merger with T-Mobile, authorities said.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
“It’s an honor system,” he said. “That’s how we live, that’s how I live my life.”
Buyer is a lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran who served as the House prosecutor during the 1998 impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton.
He will lose his law license as a result of the decision.
Buyer declined to comment on the trip out of the courtroom.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
