What was Ivan Boesky found guilty of in the 1980's?

Ivan Boesky was found guilty of insider trading in the 1980s. He used confidential information about impending corporate takeovers to buy stocks before the news became public, earning illegal profits.

Boesky became one of Wall Street’s best-known risk arbitrageurs, specializing in shares of companies likely to be acquired. In 1986, information from investment banker Dennis Levine and others exposed a network of tips involving takeover targets. Boesky agreed to pay $100 million in fines and disgorged profits and was permanently barred from the securities industry.

There is a legal detail behind the familiar quiz answer: Boesky also pleaded guilty in 1987 to a felony conspiracy charge involving false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the scandal and the conduct for which he became notorious were insider-trading violations, making “insider trading” the standard canonical answer.

The case helped trigger a major Wall Street crackdown and contributed to the prosecution of financier Michael Milken. Boesky’s story is also often linked to the “greed is good” line popularized by the 1987 film Wall Street, although the quote’s exact attribution is debated.