A Westport man who is a former president of Greenwich-based United Rentals Inc. was arraigned today on insider trading and securities fraud charges in federal court in New Haven.
John N. Milne: Westporter denies allegations. File photo
John N. Milne, 48, a Canadian citizen living on Maple Avenue South in Westport, used insider information when he sold 850,000 shares of United Rentals stock and made more than $2 million, according to federal prosecutors.
They also said he deceived investors and filed bogus documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to inflate the company’s stock price and personally benefit in an alleged conspiracy from 2000 to 2005.
Milne was arraigned in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G. Margolis and was released on $1 million bond and ordered to surrender his passport, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He was indicted Thursday on an eight-count indictment by a federal grand jury.
A spokeswoman for Milne said he categorically denies the allegations and expects to be fully exonerated, The Associated Press reported.
If convicted of all the charges, Milne could face a maximum term of imprisonment of 75 years and a fine of up to approximately $13,250,000, prosecutors said.
In addition, the government is seeking forfeiture of more than $17 million which represents his proceeds from the alleged conspiracy and his insider trading, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In a separate but parallel investigation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a civil suit against Milne in U.S. District Court in New Haven, prosecutors said.
In recent years, Milne has been managing partner of Unified Growth Partners LP, a private equity fund in Greenwich. Last year he was among a group of investors who took over bankrupt Pittsburgh Brewing Company.
Milne resigned from the brewery’s board of directors last month, company officials said.
