Appeals court finds trial judge improperly instructed a juror outside the presence of Joseph Collins' lawyers
January 10, 2012|Bloomberg News
The fraud conviction of Chicago lawyer Joseph Collins, Refco Inc.'s former outside counsel, was reversed by a federal appeals court that found the trial judge improperly instructed a juror outside the presence of Collins' attorneys.
Collins, found guilty in 2009 of helping Refco's former CEO Phillip Bennett and other executives defraud investors of $2.4 billion, is entitled to a new trial, a three-judge panel of the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling Monday. Collins, who is free on bail, was sentenced to seven years in prison.