Billionaire investor Mark Cuban, accused of insider trading on Monday, told the Dallas Morning News that the creation of the investigative business journalism site Sharesleuth.com, which he funds, was due to his experience investing in the company the government now accuses him of selling shares in with inside information.
Cuban has used the site to base other investments.
Brendan Case and Dave Michaels of the Dallas Morning News write, “In its first investigation into the alleged shortcomings of an Atlanta-based ethanol company, the Web site disclosed that Mr. Cuban had sold short 10,000 shares of the company’s stock –- meaning he would profit if the stock price fell.
“Not all of Sharesleuth’s stories have doubled as trading opportunities. A recent piece about a Dallas-based oil and gas promoter said neither Mr. Cuban nor anyone else at Sharesleuth had any financial interest in the company.
“Mr. Cuban said Monday that his experience with Mamma.com inspired him to launch the investigative Web site. ‘Sharesleuth was founded with the idea that there were other crooked companies out there like Mamma,’ he said in an e-mail.”
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