New York Rep. Chris Collins, who was one of the first GOP lawmakers to back President Donald Trump before the 2016 election, is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to insider trader charges related to his investment in an Australian biotech firm, according to court documents and a Hill insider close to the case.
Cameron Collins, the congressman's son, and another defendant, Stephen Zarsky, are also expected to plead guilty later this week, the individual said.
All three men were scheduled to change their pleas, according to court documents filed in the Southern District of New York.
Neither Collins' office nor his lead responded to requests for comment at press time.
Collins, who was able to win reelection last fall despite being under indictment, was charged in August 2018 with securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to FBI agents investigating the case.
Collins was the largest investor and member of the board of directors for Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company. He was charged with passing insider information on the company to his son and Zarsky, father of Cameron Collins' fiancee. Using that information, Cameron Collins and Zarsky were able to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses following a failed drug trial, authorities say.
At that time, the Securities and Exchange Commission settled with Lauren Zarsky, Cameron Collins' fiancee, and her mother, Dorothy Zarsky, over allegations of insider trading. The pair did not admit or deny wrongdoing but agreed to give up "ill-gotten gains" and pay fines, the SEC said.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine