United States v. Martoma

Judge Pooler dissents in a separate opinion.

Katzmann, Chief Judge:

Defendant-appellant Mathew Martoma was convicted, following a four-week jury trial, of one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and two counts of securities fraud in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78ff in connection with an insider trading scheme. On appeal, Martoma argues that the jury was improperly instructed and that there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction.

Martoma's contentions focus on the "personal benefit" element of insider trading law. In Dirks v. S.E.C. ,…