Report: GOP Lawmaker Promised Stock to Make Colleagues Rich

Rep. Chris Collins told fellow Republicans they could get rich by purchasing stock in an Australian pharmaceutical company he is heavily invested in, lawmakers told The Hill on Thursday. Collins is an 18.5 percent shareholder in Innate Immunotheraputics, and five other Republican congressmen (including now-Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price) are also invested. “If you get in early, you’ll make a big profit,” Collins is said to have told a group of House Republicans. “He said that he’s made members money,” a lawmaker told The Hill, adding, “on his stock tip.” The New York congressman is under a House Ethics Committee investigation for recruiting investors. The Daily Beast previously reported Collins also bought Innate stock, pushed a bill that could help the company, then purchased more stock. Collins also did not disclose that he participated in the company’s initial public offering.