Former Baltimore Orioles third baseman Doug DeCinces was found guilty of insider trading for making more than $1 million off a tip about an acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics Inc. from his friend who was the company’s chief executive officer.
The federal jury in Santa Ana, California, was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on charges against the former CEO, James Mazzo, who was accused of tipping DeCinces about the pending acquisition of the eye-care products company by Abbott Laboratories.
DeCinces, 66, netted $1.3 million from the trades and passed on the insider information to five other people, prosecutors alleged.
Ken Julian, a lawyer for DeCinces, said in an email that he and his client were disappointed with the verdict and will ask the judge for a new trial. Mazzo’s lawyer, Richard Marmaro, declined to comment on the outcome.
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DeCinces and Mazzo, both of Laguna Beach, California, were close friends, according to prosecutors. They were neighbors, members of the same of golf club and vacationed together, according to the government. Mazzo invested in a business of DeCinces’ son and hired DeCinces’ daughter to decorate his home.
A former Orioles teammate of DeCinces, Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, paid $358,151 in 2012 to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that accused him of profiting from the tips. Murray denied wrongdoing in settling the case. Prosecutors haven’t charged him with any crimes. DeCinces paid $2.5 million in 2012 to settle with the SEC.
DeCinces played Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1987. Besides the Orioles, he played for the California Angels and St. Louis Cardinals, hitting 237 career home runs.
Prosecutors alleged he liquidated his stock portfolio at a loss to buy Advanced Medical Optics shares and passed the information on to his friends to make up for prior investment advice that had gone bad. Advanced Medical shares rose from about $8 to $22 on news of the Abbott takeover.
The case is U.S. v. Mazzo, 12-cr-00269, U.S. District, Central District of California (Santa Ana).