The charmed life of golfer, gambler, entrepreneur and Las Vegas power broker Billy Walters appears to have come to an end with his conviction in a Manhattan courtroom on federal insider-trading charges.
Jurors returned the verdict against the 70-year-old Walters on April 7 at the conclusion of one of the highest-profile insider trading cases ever, embroiling the likes of golfer Phil Mickelson and billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Walters was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy, largely on the testimony of Tom C. Davis, the former chairman of Dean Foods Co. and the government’s star witness. Davis, who was Walters’ friend, business partner and longtime golfing buddy, provided Walters with illegal stock tips that earned him more than $40 million over six years.
“We’re here because Billy Walters cheated, not once, but over and over and over again,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Cucinella said in closing arguments.
In one instance, the prosecutor noted that Walters bought 1.5 million shares of Dean Foods minutes after a phone message from Davis, who had learned at a board meeting that the Dallas-based company, one of the nation’s largest processors of milk for retailers, was spinning off part of its business and was about to surprise the market with unexpected earnings.
At the time, Davis owed Walters nearly $1 million from a loan, Cucinella said.
According to the government, Mickelson made $1 million acting on Walters’ advice to buy Dean Foods stock back in 2012 and then used turned the money over to Walters to cover gambling debts.
“Mickelson had never purchased Dean Foods stock before, not once,” Cucinella said.
Mickelson was not charged criminally. But the Securities and Exchange Commission accused him in a civil lawsuit of making nearly $1 million in the stock trade. Mickelson agreed to repay it.
Before the trial, Mickelson was listed as a possible witness, but he did not testify.
