Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday and then pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to federal insider trader charges, according to various national news outlets.
Collins, 69, and his son, Cameron Collins, 26, had pleaded not guilty, but filed paperwork in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday saying they would change their plea, according to The New York Times. Collins faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, the newspaper reported.
His resignation from Congress took effect immediately, according a copy of the brief letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), and subsequently posted on social media.
Collins served on the board of Australian biotechnology specialist and was accused of giving his son and others early notice the company had failed a key clinical trial on the effectiveness of its product to treat secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis. As a result, he was charged with using insider information to help people avoid big financial losses in the stock market, and lying about it to law enforcement.
In August 2018, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suspended Collins from the House Energy and Commerce Committee after documents were unsealed in U.S. District Court outlining the prosecution’s case. Collins, who has served in the House since 2013, is not currently listed among the active GOP members of the panel that oversees agencies including the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.