Billionaire investor and casino owner Carl Icahn may see his social media activity used as evidence in a high-profile insider trading case against Nevada golf course owner and popular bettor William ‘Billy’ Walters.
Mr. Walters has allegedly been taking advantage of insider information while trading shares of various companies. According to Manhattan federal court prosecutors, Mr. Icahn may have communicated non-public information to Mr. Walters that helped the latter profit from trades first in Clorox Inc. and then in Apple stock.
Back in 2011, Mr. Icahn made a bid to purchase Clorox. Prosecutors told the jury that Mr. Walters had bought Clorox stock several days before the takeover offer was made and sold it several days later. The prosecution also made it known that it had evidence of the popular bettor talking to the billionaire investor before the trades took place.
In 2013, Mr. Icahn tweeted that his company Icahn Enterprises had taken a “large position” in American technology company Apple. Federal authorities claimed that they could present evidence of Mr. Walters being involved in trading of Apple shares during that year after acquiring insider information that had allegedly been conveyed to him by none other but Mr. Icahn. The tweet in question was referred to as a possible signal of wrongdoing.
Despite Mr. Icahn’s name being involved in the highly publicized case, he is not expected to be called as witness at least for now.
Mr. Walters was charged with insider trading for allegedly trading on the stock of dairy product manufacturer Dean Foods while in possession of insider information. Former Dean Foods Chairman, Thomas Davis, had allegedly provided the golf course owner with tips that helped him improve his trading edge. Mr. Davis is now a key prosecution witness.
Billy Walters, as he is known on the Las Vegas gambling scene, is generally recognized as one of the most successful sports bettors. It is believed that Mr. Walters had made millions by wagering on college basketball and football through the use of well-developed betting systems. He has been a long-time friend of Mr. Icahn, which may one of the reasons why prosecutors have targeted the billionaire investor in the high profile case.
Mr. Icahn himself has a fair share of involvement in the US gambling industry. He has invested in several casino properties over the years. In 2015, he pulled the Trump Taj Mahal casino from bankruptcy, only to close the property a year and a half later. Earlier this year, the investor announced that he would sell the venue that was once dubbed the eighth wonder of the world. It has recently became known that Florida-headquartered casino and café chain operator Hard Rock International would buy the shuttered property.
