Lawyer Asks Appeals Court to Overturn Joseph Nacchio Conviction

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Lawyer Asks Appeals Court to Overturn Joseph Nacchio Conviction

6:35 am on October 12, 2007 | Category: Business, Law

A lawyer for ex-Qwest CEO, Joseph Nacchio, has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn a recent insider trading conviction against her client, arguing that there was insufficient proof that Nacchio’s trading activities were illegal.

Defense attorney, Maureen Mahoney, wrote in an an appeals brief filed Tuesday that the case against Nacchio was “an unprecedented prosecution,” and that the verdict should be reversed, or at lease appealed at a new trial before a different judge.

“The extraordinary charges here are based on the claim that Nacchio knew, eight months or more in advance, that Qwest might not make its year-end 2001 financial projections,” Mahoney wrote. “Counsel is aware of no other case where the government has predicated a criminal charge of insider trading on predictions about financial results for future quarters.”

Mr. Nacchio was sentenced to six years in prison, fined $19 million, and ordered to forfeit an additional $52 million in July by U.S. District Judge, Edward Nottingham. He is currently free on bail, pending the outcome of his appeal, which is set to begin with oral arguments on December 18.