Insider trading charges against Mark Cuban

DALLAS, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. government announced Monday it had filed a complaint charging Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with insider trading.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said in a written statement Cuban allegedly dumped his holdings in an Internet search-engine company in 2004 after being invited by the company to take part in a new stock offering.

According to the SEC, Cuban agreed to keep the invitation from Momma.com confidential, but quickly called his broker with a sell order for his entire 600,000-share position in Momma.com.

Cuban allegedly sold on the assumption the new stock offering would dilute the price of his current holdings. On the day the offering was publicly announced, Momma.com share price slid more than 9 percent.

"It is fundamentally unfair for someone to use access to non-public information to improperly gain an edge on the market," explained Scott Friestad, deputy director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.

Cuban had no immediate comment; however, the Dallas Morning News said Monday he had retained a former U.S. attorney to act as his defense counsel.