Karina on SpoutBlog

According to WIRED and other sources, Mark Cuban, founder of 2929 Entertainment (which includes the eponymous production company, Magnolia Pictures, HDNet and Landmark Theaters), has been charged with insider training. FORBES has the filing, which contends that in 2004, Cuban became privy to the knowledge that Mamma.com, in which he owned 600,000 shares, was set to offer public shares at a cut price. Despite agreeing to keep the information confidential, the filing charges, Cuban sold his shares, and thereby “avoided losses in excess of $750,000.”

For those of us who are SEC illiterate, Sillicon Alley Insider offers a detailed timeline of exactly what the Commission is alleging Cuban did. They conclude that “if the SEC’s reporting of the facts is true and complete, it certainly appears that Mark traded while in possession of material non-public information.”

We’ll be refreshing Cuban’s blog all afternoon and wil let you know if he posts a comment.

UPDATE! That was quick. Cuban now has a statement, signed by his lawyer, on his blog. It reads in part: “This matter, which has been pending before the Commission for nearly two years, has no merit and is a product of gross abuse of prosecutorial discretion…Mr. Cuban stated, ‘I am disappointed that the Commission chose to bring this case based upon its Enforcement staff’s win-at-any-cost ambitions. The staff’s process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government’s claims are false and they will be proven to be so.’”