John Kinnucan, a research analyst who has recently been critical of government insider trading laws and prosecutions has been arrested for insider trading. The Department of Justice and the SEC have charged Kinnucan with paying insider sources with gifts including vacations and meals for tips that he passed along to two hedge funds. The government contends that Kinnucan hid behind his company, Broadband Research, claiming to be a research analyst. The government also alleges that the hedge funds paid Kinnucan $30,000 quarterly for the information he provided. Federal authorities approached Kinnucan in 2010 asking him to cooperate into an investigation of his clients. He declined to do so and then went public, criticizing the investigation.
More information and commentary can be found here: https://twitter.com/#!/amyjgreer/status/170878962665390082
