SEC v. Christopher Collins, et al. (insider trading, 2019)
Settled
Checked against the primary document on October 3, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.
In December 2019 the SEC announced settlements with Congressman Christopher Collins, his son Cameron and Stephen Zarsky over trading on negative Innate Immunotherapeutics trial results, which avoided losses above $700,000. Christopher Collins accepted an officer-and-director bar; Cameron Collins and Zarsky agreed to disgorge avoided losses plus interest of $634,299 and $159,880, subject to court approval.
The record
| Agency | SEC |
|---|---|
| Release number | LR-24687 |
| Date filed | 2019-12-10 |
| Date resolved | 2019-12-10 |
| Court | U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York |
| Status | settled |
| Criminal parallel | Yes: guilty plea (Christopher Collins, Cameron Collins and Stephen Zarsky) |
| Bars imposed | officer-and-director bar |
| Defendants | Christopher Collins ; Cameron Collins ; Stephen Zarsky |
| Cited as charged or alleged | Exchange Act s.10(b) and Rule 10b-5 ; Securities Act s.17(a) |
| Techniques | Insider trading |
What was ordered
- Civil penalty
- —
- Disgorgement
- —
- Prejudgment interest
- —
- Total relief
- —
- Alleged gain
- $700k
What is alleged to have happened
The proposed judgments enjoin all three under Section 10(b), Rule 10b-5 and Section 17(a). The two traders sold nearly 1.7 million shares ahead of the announcement. The release gives their payments only as totals of disgorgement and interest, so none is stored in the money fields. A parallel criminal case exists.
What technique is this, and how does it work?
This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.
- Insider trading — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.
Timeline
- 2019-12-10 Litigation release published
Primary documents
Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.
Same matter
The library links these 2 records because they appear to concern one matter: the same lead defendant, an overlapping technique tag and close filing dates, or a shared court docket or a release that cites the other. Records are listed by date filed.
| Date filed | Agency | Record | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-08-10 | SEC | SEC v. Christopher Collins, et al., Lauren Zarksy, Dorothy Zarsky (insider trading, 2018) | Settled |
| 2019-12-10 | SEC | SEC v. Christopher Collins, et al. (insider trading, 2019) | Settled |
Related actions
Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.
| Action | Agency | Filed | Technique | Penalty | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC v. Trijya Vakil and Neeraj Visen (insider trading, 2026) | SEC | 2026-09-04 | Insider Trading | $109k | settled |
| CFTC v. Gabriel Perez (insider trading, 2026) | CFTC | 2026-08-28 | Insider Trading | $65k | judgment |
| SEC v. Gavin Wolfe and others (insider trading, 2026) | SEC | 2026-08-21 | Insider Trading | — | filed |
| SEC v. Jesse R. Mitchell (insider trading, 2026) | SEC | 2026-08-21 | Insider Trading | — | filed |
| SEBI v. Arun Kumar Somani and others (insider trading review, Indian Oil Corporation, 2026) | SEBI (India) | 2026-08-13 | Insider Trading | — | dismissed |
| SEC v. Benjamin Tesfaye (insider trading, 2026) | SEC | 2026-08-11 | Insider Trading | $18.7k | settled |