Rep. Chris Collins, who has previously entered a not guilty plea in his federal criminal fraud case, has a change of plea hearing scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, raising the possibility that the New York Republican could agree to a deal offered by federal prosecutors. Collins is to appear before Judge Vernon Broderick of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at the hearing in New York at 3 p.m.
The scheduling of the hearing was first reported by The Buffalo News.
The lawmaker is facing eight counts of federal criminal charges involving conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and false statements. Collins’ trial is slated for Feb. 3. Collins, along with his son, Cameron, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron Collins’ fiancee at the time, are alleged by federal prosecutors to have engaged in an insider trading scheme involving an Australian biotechnology company — Innate Immunotherapeutics.
A spokeswoman for Collins referred a request for comment about the hearing to his attorney.
