Prosecutors Not Required to Prove Tipper Received “Personal Benefit” to be Convicted Under Criminal Insider Trading Statute Thursday, January 9, 2020
On December 30, 2019 the Second Circuit issued its opinion in
United States v. Blaszczak, finding that the government can criminally prosecute insider trading under 18 U.S.C. 1348 without proving personal benefit to the tipper, making it easier to prosecute trading on inside information.
Prior to the
Blaszczak ruling, it was unclear whether judicial precedent in insider trading cases brought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 10(b) and SEC Rule 10b-5 (referred to herein as Title 15), would apply to cases brought under the newer securities fraud law found in Title 18, which applies to registered securities. Under Title 15, prosecutors had to prove, among other things, that insiders received some form of “personal benefit” in exchange for their tips. In certain circumstances, demonstrating t