The file
Martha Stewart
Photo: David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
person

Martha Stewart

American businesswoman, writer, TV personality (born 1941)

Entries
28
On the record
11
Stories
1
Latest entry
Jun 10, 2019

The record

Compiled by the MrScandal desk from the documents below · Desk editor Gustavs Ērkšķis-Kreicbergs · Nov 10, 2026

Martha Stewart served five months in federal prison at the Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia, a minimum-security facility. The Bureau of Prisons recorded her arrival at about 6:15 a.m. on October 8, 2004 and her release at 12:30 a.m. on March 4, 2005, under inmate number 55170-054. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum had sentenced her on July 16, 2004 to five months in prison, two years of supervised release with five months of it in home confinement, a $30,000 fine and a $400 special assessment. She served the home confinement at her estate in Westchester County, New York. It was extended by three weeks and ended on August 31, 2005, with probation set to run until March 2007.

The convictions were for the cover-up, not the trade. In March 2004 a federal jury in Manhattan found her guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding and two counts of making false statements to investigators about her December 27, 2001 sale of 3,928 shares of ImClone Systems. None of the nine counts in the indictment charged insider trading. The one securities fraud count, which accused her of misleading investors in her own company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, ended in a judgment of acquittal from the judge at the close of the evidence. The Second Circuit upheld her convictions on January 6, 2006.

Insider trading was the subject of a separate civil case. The SEC sued her and her former Merrill Lynch broker, Peter Bacanovic, on June 4, 2003, the day of the indictment, alleging that she sold after learning that ImClone's chief executive, Samuel Waksal, and his daughter were selling their shares. She settled in August 2006 without admitting or denying the allegations, agreeing to pay $58,062 in disgorgement and interest and a $137,019 penalty, three times the losses the SEC said she avoided. She also accepted a five-year bar from serving as a director of a public company and a five-year limit on her work as an officer.

Her company roles changed with the case. She resigned as chairman and chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia the day she was indicted and left its board in March 2004 for a non-officer title. She rejoined the board in September 2011 and became non-executive chairman in May 2012. When the company merged into Sequential Brands Group in December 2015, she became Sequential's chief creative officer and a director. Sequential sold the Martha Stewart business to Marquee Brands in June 2019 for about $166 million in cash.

Questions people ask

Where did Martha Stewart go to prison?

The Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia. The Bureau of Prisons inmate locator lists her as inmate 55170-054 at FPC Alderson, released on March 4, 2005. source

How long was Martha Stewart's sentence?

Five months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, five months of which were to be served in home confinement. She was also fined $30,000 and ordered to pay a mandatory $400 special assessment. source

What was Martha Stewart convicted of?

Conspiracy, obstructing an agency proceeding and making false statements to government investigators, on specifications in Counts One, Three, Four and Eight. The judge acquitted her of the securities fraud count, and the jury acquitted her of one false-statement specification in each of Counts Three and Four. source

Was Martha Stewart arrested?

She was indicted on June 4, 2003 and surrendered to federal authorities at the federal courthouse in Manhattan. At a nine-minute arraignment that afternoon she pleaded not guilty to all nine counts and was released without bail. source

Did Martha Stewart do insider trading?

The SEC alleged it in a civil case over her ImClone sale. She settled in August 2006 without admitting or denying the allegations, paying $45,673 in disgorgement, $12,389 in prejudgment interest and a $137,019 penalty, and accepting a five-year bar from serving as a public-company director. source

Roles and honours on the record

  • 1991 Editor-in-chief, Martha Stewart Living magazine source
  • 1996-2003 Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia source
  • 2004 Founding Editorial Director (non-officer), Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia source
  • 2010 Chief Editorial, Media and Content Officer, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, appointed March 1, 2010 source
  • 2011-2015 Director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia from September 2011; Non-Executive Chairman from May 2012 source
  • 2015-2019 Chief Creative Officer and director, Sequential Brands Group, from December 4, 2015 source

Every entry, newest first

Last entry Aug 7, 2006
  1. Filed

    SEC announced settlement; proposed judgments filed: $58,062 disgorgement and interest, $137,019 penalty, no admission. Martha Stewart prison: 5 months for lying about her ImClone sale

  2. Reported

    Released from Federal Prison Camp Alderson to complete the rest of her sentence, per the Bureau of Prisons. Martha Stewart prison: 5 months for lying about her ImClone sale

  3. Ruled

    Sentenced to five months in prison, two years of supervised release and a $30,000 fine. Martha Stewart prison: 5 months for lying about her ImClone sale

  4. Ruled

    Federal jury found her guilty on four counts of obstructing justice and lying to investigators. Martha Stewart prison: 5 months for lying about her ImClone sale

  5. Filed

    SEC filed a civil complaint alleging insider trading and false statements over her ImClone stock sale. Martha Stewart prison: 5 months for lying about her ImClone sale

  6. Reported

    Resigned from the NYSE board, saying media attention should not distract from the exchange's work. Martha Stewart prison: 5 months for lying about her ImClone sale

Stories in this file

Martha Stewart: CONVICTEDCelebrity · 7d ago

🍳 Martha Stewart prison: 5 months for lying about her ImClone sale

Plus a $30,000 fine. She said she'd done nothing wrong and her lawyer said she'd appeal; the SEC case settled in 2006 with no admission. 🗣️

The record, entry by entry

  1. 1999-10-22 Official Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia completed its initial public offering, selling 8,280,000 Class A shares at $18 each, right after the predecessor company merged into it. MSLO annual report on Form 10-K
  2. 2001-12-27 Filed The SEC alleges that after learning that ImClone Systems chief executive Samuel Waksal and his daughter were selling their ImClone stock at Merrill Lynch, she ordered the sale of all 3,928 of her shares. ImClone announced the next evening that the FDA had refused to file its Erbitux application; the SEC put her avoided losses at $45,673. SEC complaint, SEC v. Stewart and Bacanovic, S.D.N.Y.
  3. 2003-06-04 Filed A federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York indicted her on charges of obstruction of an agency proceeding, making false statements, conspiracy and securities fraud. She resigned as chairman and chief executive that day but stayed on as a director and chief creative officer. MSLO annual report on Form 10-K
  4. 2003-06-04 Reported She surrendered to federal authorities and, at a nine-minute arraignment, she and Bacanovic each pleaded not guilty to all nine counts and were released without bail. Her lawyers said the indictment showed the insider-trading accusation behind the investigation had proven false. CNN/Money report
  5. 2003-06-04 Filed The SEC filed a civil insider trading complaint against her and Bacanovic in Manhattan, seeking disgorgement, civil penalties and an order barring her from serving as a director of any public company. SEC press release 2003-69
  6. 2004-02-27 Reported The trial judge threw out the securities fraud charge, citing insufficient evidence, as jurors prepared to begin deliberating; the other charges against her and Bacanovic remained. NPR report
  7. 2004-03-05 Ruled A jury found her guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding and making false statements to federal investigators concerning her personal sale of non-company stock. MSLO annual report on Form 10-K
  8. 2004-03-15 Official She resigned as a director and as chief creative officer and took the title of Founding Editorial Director, which the company's annual report describes as a non-officer position. MSLO annual report on Form 10-K
  9. 2004-07-16 Ruled The district court sentenced her to five months' incarceration, two years of supervised release with five months in home confinement, a $30,000 fine and a $400 special assessment, and stayed the sentence pending appeal. The stay was later vacated and an amended judgment entered on September 22, 2004. U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, opinion
  10. 2004-10-08 Official She arrived at about 6:15 a.m. at the Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia, a minimum-security facility then housing about 1,050 inmates, to begin her sentence. Federal Bureau of Prisons press release (archived)
  11. 2005-03-04 Official She was released from the Federal Prison Camp at Alderson at 12:30 a.m. to complete the remaining portion of her sentence: two years of supervised release, five months of it in home confinement. Federal Bureau of Prisons press release (archived)
  12. 2005-04-11 Ruled On a partial remand the Second Circuit granted at her request, the district court reconsidered her sentence under United States v. Crosby and decided not to modify it. U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, opinion
  13. 2005-08-03 Reported Her lawyer, Walter Dellinger, said she had agreed to extend her home confinement by three weeks, from August 10 to August 31, without saying why. The chief federal probation officer in New York would not confirm the extension. Associated Press report via NBC News
  14. 2005-08-31 Reported Her home confinement and electronic monitoring at her estate in Katonah, Westchester County, ended. The AP reported that her probation would run until March 2007, with monthly reports and no travel outside the federal court district without permission. Associated Press report via NBC News
  15. 2006-01-06 Ruled The Second Circuit rejected her appeal, which raised a confrontation-clause objection, perjury by a government ink expert and a juror's voir dire answers, and remanded only on her co-defendant's sentence. U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, opinion
  16. 2006-08-07 Official She agreed to settle the SEC's insider trading case without admitting or denying the allegations: $45,673 in disgorgement plus $12,389 in interest, a $137,019 penalty, a five-year bar from serving as a public-company director and a five-year limit on her officer duties. SEC litigation release 19794
  17. 2011-09 Official She returned to the board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia as a director; the company's proxy statement describes the 2006 SEC settlement and the 2004 conviction in her biography. MSLO 2012 proxy statement
  18. 2012-05-23 Official The MSLO board appointed her non-executive chairman, and she became chief creative officer again in 2012, a role she had held from 2003 to 2004. MSLO 2014 proxy statement
  19. 2015-12-04 Official Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia closed its merger with Sequential Brands Group and asked the New York Stock Exchange to suspend trading and delist its shares. MSLO press release filed with Form 8-K
  20. 2015-12-04 Official She joined Sequential's board on the day of the merger, as a non-independent director, and became its chief creative officer. Sequential Brands 2017 proxy statement
  21. 2016 Official Sequential reported her 2016 compensation at $5,040,127, including a guaranteed $1.3 million annual payment and $3.1 million under intellectual property agreements. Sequential Brands 2017 proxy statement
  22. 2019-06-10 Official Sequential completed the sale of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to Marquee Brands for about $166 million in cash at closing. Sequential Brands current report on Form 8-K

Documents

Sources behind this file

  1. New York Times profile of Peter Bacanovic · Report, Oct 13, 2006
  2. SEC litigation release on the settlement · Regulator, Aug 7, 2006
  3. Associated Press report on the company's quarterly results, via NBC News · Report, Feb 22, 2006
  4. Federal Bureau of Prisons release on her release · Public record, Mar 4, 2005
  5. CNN/Money report on her release and the company · Report, Mar 4, 2005
  6. Federal Bureau of Prisons release on her arrival · Public record, Oct 8, 2004
  7. New York Times report on the prison assignment · Report, Sep 30, 2004
  8. CNN/Money report on her inmate number · Report, Sep 27, 2004
  9. Reuters report on the sentence, via The Sydney Morning Herald · Report, Jul 17, 2004
  10. New York Post column on the company's outlook · Report, May 10, 2004
  11. CNN/Money report on the verdict · Report, Mar 5, 2004
  12. SEC press release announcing charges · Regulator, Jun 4, 2003

Connected files

  • ImClone Systems · Biotech firm known for developing cancer drug Erbitux and sparking the infamous Martha Stewart insider trading scandal. · 1 shared story
  • Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia · Lifestyle media company known for home entertaining, magazine publishing, and mass-market household merchandise. · 1 shared story