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Mistrial declared in James Mazzo insider trading case
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A mistrial was declared in the insider trading case against James V. Mazzo, global president ophthalmic devices at Carl Zeiss Meditec, while two others were found guilty of multiple charges, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mazzo, CEO of Advanced Medical Optics from 2002 to 2009, was indicted in 2014 on insider trading charges for his role in providing former professional baseball player Douglas V. DeCinces with confidential information in advance of Abbott’s 2009 acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics, according to a 2014 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
James V. Mazzo
Mazzo was added to the initial 2012 indictment that named DeCinces and two of his associates, David Parker of Provo, Utah, and Fred Scott Jackson of Newport Beach, California. Mazzo was charged with 13 counts of insider trading, 13 counts of tender offer fraud and one count of securities fraud, according to the Department of Justice.
After a 2-month trial, a jury found DeCinces guilty of 14 counts of insider trading but was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on an additional 18 counts. Parker was found guilty of three counts of insider trading in the context of a tender offer. The two face maximum penalties of 220 years and 60 years in federal prison, respectively, according to the latest Department of Justice press release.
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the charges against Mazzo, and a mistrial was declared. He still faces the 27 charges, according to the release.
The jury found DeCinces and his associates used information from Mazzo to purchase shares of EYE, which increased from approximately $8 to $22 as a result of the sale of Advanced Medical Optics, and realized a profit of approximately $1.3 million, according to the release. DeCinces provided information regarding the acquisition to Parker, who made a profit of approximately $350,000. – by Rebecca Forand and Robert Linnehan
Editor's note: This item has been updated to clarify attribution.