Ex-congressman Stephen Buyer (R-Ind.) was sentenced Tuesday to 22 months in prison for insider trading while working at a consulting firm after he left office, a sentencing Buyer continued to defend himself against in court, according to Bloomberg.
Buyer was found guilty this year. (AP Photo/Larry Neumeister, File)
Buyer was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in New York more than six months after being found guilty of making nearly $350,000 from insider trading conducted before Guidehouse Inc.’s 2019 acquisition of Navigant Consulting Inc. and T-Mobile’s Sprint Corp. acquisition announcement in 2018.
Buyer, who served in Congress from 1993 to 2011, didn’t address his conviction at the sentencing hearing, according to Bloomberg, informing the judge he would appeal the decision and that his life was characterized by “good acts.”
The former congressman was charged and later found guilty of four counts of securities fraud, each of which carry maximum sentences of 20 years, with prosecutors initially alleging he profited more than $227,000.
The charges were levied against Buyer years after he formed and worked for his own consulting firm, the Steve Buyer Group, which prosecutors said provided services to T-Mobile, among other clients.
Buyer was ordered to report to prison on November 28.
Prior to his conviction, Buyer’s attorneys argued his trades were the result of legitimate stock research completed by the former congressman, arguing it was a coincidence that his clients acquired two companies he invested in, according to the Associated Press.
“Steve is disappointed in the sentence, but we look forward to the appeal,” Daniel Alonso, a lawyer for Buyer, told Forbes on Tuesday.
$26.5 billion. That’s how much the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint was valued at in the lead up to the completion of the acquisition, which Buyer was convicted of profiting from through insider trading.
Buyer, 64, is a former chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He once served as a House prosecutor during former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in 1998 and later served on the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Buyer created awareness around military and prescription drug issues during his time in Congress, the Associated Press reported.
Ex-GOP Congressman Gets 22 Months in Prison for Insider Trading (Bloomberg)
Ex-US Rep. Buyer convicted of illegal stock purchases (Associated Press)