Twenty-two years ago a famous American became the poster child for insider trading when she was found to have taken a tip from her broker about a falling stock price and saved herself about $45,000 in losses. Martha Stewart, the extremely wealthy entrepreneur and “domestic lifestyle influencer,” spent five months in jail for lying about what she’d done. She paid restitution and fines, and came back just fine afterward. But the punishment struck many people as excessive. It was clear prosecutors sought to make an example of her and send a message that no one is above the law when it comes to insider trading.
Somebody didn’t get the memo. Monday saw what appears to be one of the biggest insider trades ever registered, and there’s nobody minding the store willing to find out who it was. In fact, it may be that the store itself was in on it.
