On December 7, a California federal judge dismissed with prejudice criminal insider trading charges against Skadden client James Mazzo, the former chairman and CEO of Advanced Medical Optics (AMO), on a motion by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Following the dismissal, another judge approved the settlement of a related Securities and Exchange Commission civil case. Mr. Mazzo was accused of providing insider information about AMO’s merger with Abbott Laboratories to his friend Doug DeCinces, a former professional baseball player. The long-running case against Mr. Mazzo had resulted in a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion and two mistrials and was poised for a possible third criminal trial and a civil trial against the SEC.
