Collins expected to plead guilty in insider trading case

NEW YORK (AP) — Court records say a Republican congressman from western New York is expected to plead guilty in a criminal case accusing him of insider trading.

A federal judge in Manhattan has scheduled a hearing Tuesday afternoon for U.S. Rep. Chris Collins to enter a guilty plea in a case initially brought last year.

A similar hearing has been scheduled Thursday for Collins’ son.

The congressman is accused of illegally leaking confidential information about a biopharmaceutical company to his son and the father of his son’s fiancée.

Prosecutors say the tip allowed them to avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

Collins’ attorney didn’t immediately respond to messages Monday.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined comment.

The court filing didn’t specify which charges Collins would plead guilty to.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the hearing for Collins’ son is on Thursday, not Wednesday.