The jury has former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio not guilty of the first eight counts and is still reading the remainder of its verdict.
Nacchio is accused of 42 counts of illegal insider trading. If he is found guilty, Nacchio faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each of the 42 counts.
During Nacchio’s trial, federal prosecutors had argued that Nacchio dumped $100.8 million in Qwest stock during the first five months of 2001 while he had inside information that the company’s finances were deteriorating. They argued that he was repeatedly warned beginning in late 2000 that Qwest would not make its publicly announced 2001 revenue targets but didn’t disclose it.
Nacchio’s defense attorneys maintained that the warnings he received were related to Qwest’s internal targets and not the publicly stated numbers. They said Nacchio had good reasons to sell because some options were set to expire, and the Qwest board and Nacchio’s own financial adviser had urged him to sell the shares. They also maintained that Nacchio was exceptionally confident in the company’s prospects.
