Mark Cuban on SEC case: I never agreed to keep a secret

Billionaire Mark Cuban is showing the hand he intends to play in fighting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s insider-trading charges: He says he never agreed to keep any information about Mamma.com confidential.

The SEC on Monday accused the Dallas Mavericks owner of dumping stock in the company, an Internet search business, ahead of a stock offering the firm had planned in the spring of 2004.

Cuban was told about the offering in a phone call from the company’s then-CEO, Guy Faure, and agreed to keep it secret, the SEC said.

Wrong, Cuban’s lawyers say today on his website, Blog Maverick.

From the site:

The SEC knows their case centers on one telephone conversation between two individuals four years ago. The SEC claims there was an agreement between these parties to the conversation to keep certain information confidential.

We interviewed Guy Faure, the former CEO of Mamma.com Inc., with whom the SEC claims Mr. Cuban made an agreement. We had a court reporter transcribe the interview. There was no agreement to keep information confidential.

Here is a relevant excerpt from the interview with Mr. Faure:

Q -- We spoke earlier about you were telling Mr. Cuban in words or substance: "I have confidential information for you."

A -- Right.

Q -- Do you recall anything Mr. Cuban said in response or reply to that statement by you ?

A -- No, I do not.

The SEC knows this -- they have the transcript, yet they brought the case anyway. Why? Do they have a different statement from Mr. Faure?

The SEC typically doesn't try its cases in the court of public opinion. But there's nothing to stop Cuban from doing exactly that, every day, for as long as he'd like.

Photo: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Comments

[larry]

Just another case of the Bush administration going after all things Cuban.

[keith]

Maybe he should get Martha Stewart on the case as a consultant!