Mark Cuban Needs To Consider Taking the Fifth Amendment Or Defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis!

Mark Cuban is accused of insider trading by the SEC Relating to Mamma.com
Mark Cuban faces charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Mark, take some good advice from an old fashion Indiana lawyer, keep your mouth shut! This is not an NBA matter. The potential jail time almost always occurs because some one is found to have lied under oath. Follow your lawyers advice. If I were that lawyer, I would tell you to keep your mouth shut and pay the fine without admitting any guilt. Steroids did not get Bonds in trouble. Allegedly lieing under oath did. You can testify truthfully and still be found to have lied under oath. Think of it as a trap and don't take the bait. Despite this advice, it may be hard for Mark to stay quiet.

The billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks is accused of insider trading over the sale of 600,000 shares of Mamma.com. The SEC's lawsuit did not specify what fines the commission intends to seek. Cuban became a billionaire by selling his company, Broadcast.com, to Yahoo while he was living in Bloomington, Indiana. In 2000, Mark purchased the Dallas Mavericks $285 million from H. Ross Perot Jr. Cuban became a very hands-on owner, spending his time on the court rather than up in the owner's box. Mark even has his own blog.

Mark is not afraid to celebrate or scream at officials or players. Consequently, he has had his share of spats with NBA commissioner David Stern. The league has fined Cuban in the neighborhood of $1.6 million for inappropriate comments and/or actions. For example, In 2002, Cuban commented about an NBA head of officiating, "I wouldn't hire him to manage a Dairy Queen." D.Q. challenged Cuban to work in one of its stores for a day. Cuban accepted, and found out it is not so easy of a job.

Similarly, when former Maverick Michael Finley returned to Dallas in the 2005-06 season, the owner encouraged fans to shower him with boos. Cuban's biggest fine came after the 2006 NBA Finals. He was fined $250,000 for inappropriate conduct during Game 5. Cuban has expressed interest in buying the Chicago Cubs in July 2008. Not likely that will ever happen!

So, what has Cuban in hot water? Supposedly, he invested in Mamma.com, a conglomerate type of search engine start up company in 2004. However, Cuban dumped his entire investment in the company in 2004 after allegedly finding out from Mamma that their private funding money dipped by 10%. Since the SEC kind of frowns on investors using insider information to avoid financial losses, charges were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Mark Cuban denies all accusations of wrong doing. He will want to fight. But the SEC, like the TSA, FBI and City Hall, is not someone you want on your bad side. A word to the wise, Mark. You have come a long way since we drank beer in Bloomington. Now is the time to keep your mouth shut and stay where you are in the social heirarchy. Men smarter than you have made the mistake to testify under oath in such high profile proceedings.

Keep in mind all parties, especially Mark, are presumed to be innocent!