NSAV Holding Inc (NSAV)

[Russ49]

Insider Trading Conviction of Martha Stewart. Just to refresh your memory. (From 2004)

Stewart was found guilty of conspiracy, making false statements and obstruction of justice. The charges carry up to 20 years in prison at sentencing June 17, but she will most certainly get much less than that under federal sentencing guidelines. (She got about a year)

The charges centered on why Stewart dumped about $228,000 worth of ImClone Systems (IMCL) stock on Dec. 27, 2001, just a day before it was announced that the Food and Drug Administration had rejected ImClone's application for approval of a cancer drug. The announcement sent ImClone's stock plummeting.

Stewart and Bacanovic claimed they had a standing agreement to sell when the price fell below $60. But the government contended that was a phony cover story and that Stewart sold because she was tipped by her broker that ImClone CEO Sam Waksal (search) was frantically trying to dump his own holdings.

Waksal later admitted selling his stock based on advance word of the FDA decision. He is serving seven years in prison for insider trading. (He must be out now)

Stewart, who averted more than $51,000 in losses by selling when she did, was not charged with insider trading; instead, she and her broker were accused of lying about the transaction and altering records to support the alleged cover story.