A federal jury cleared Mark Cuban of wrongdoing on Wednesday, concluding that the billionaire entrepreneur did not commit insider trading when he dumped his stake in an Internet company, dealing a blow to the federal agency that Mr. Cuban battled tooth and nail for five years.
The agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, was hoping to build on the momentum it gained from the recent trial win against Fabrice Tourre, a former Goldman Sachs trader at the center of a toxic mortgage deal.
The loss in the Cuban case could reignite concerns about the agency’s struggles in the courtroom, where it lost some crucial cases stemming from the financial crisis. The loss on Wednesday could also undercut the S.E.C.’s campaign to hold more individuals accountable at trial, a policy championed by its new chairwoman, Mary Jo White.
After just four hours of deliberation, a nine-person jury concluded that Mr. Cuban was not liable under federal securities laws, capping a more than two-week civil trial for one the few celebrities to land on the S.E.C.’s radar. The 55-year-old reality TV personality, best known as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, was facing a roughly $2 million fine.
With a net worth pegged at $2.5 billion, and a track record for paying millions of dollars in fines for his courtside antics and tirades against N.B.A. referees, Mr. Cuban’s battle was not about the money. Instead, he fought the case to clear his name and humble an agency that accused him of trading on confidential information when dumping his stake in an Internet company.
