Court Refuses Ex-OpenSea Exec’s Effort to Dismiss ‘Insider Trading’ Case

Furman wrote: “Chastain seizes on two references in the Indictment and statements made by the Government (in a press release and at the initial conference in this case) to assert that he is charged with ‘insider trading.’ But he is not charged with insider trading, at least in the classic sense of the term, which is a means of engaging in securities fraud in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 … Instead, he is charged with wire fraud in violation of Section 1343. See Indictment ¶ 13. And in contrast to Section 10(b), which is limited to fraud ‘in connection with the purchase or sale of any security,’ Section 1343 makes no reference to securities or commodities.”