RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli took a hit of nearly $7,000 last week when he sold the rest of his shares in nutritional supplement maker Star Scientific.
Cuccinelli spokeswoman Anna Nix said Friday that Cuccinelli sold 8,660 shares of his stock in the company on April 12 at a price of $1.43 per share for a capital loss of $6,998.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate initially bought 5,060 shares the stock in October 2010 at a price of $1.97 per share, or $10,081.
In July 2011, Star Scientific sued Virginia’s Department of Taxation challenging $700,000 in disputed state taxes. Cuccinelli’s office undertook the agency’s legal defense, filing an answer to the company’s complaint in August, and the next month, Cuccinelli bought 3,600 shares at $2.80 each for $10,097.
He said he purchased the additional stock in September 2011 unaware of the company’s litigation. At the time, Star Scientific was the only stock in Cuccinelli’s portfolio.
When the stock holdings along with gifts to Cuccinelli from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams were first reported in March, it provoked calls for Cuccinelli to appoint outside counsel to defend the state. It also renewed demands that Cuccinelli step aside as attorney general, a custom observed by six of his predecessors since 1985 who ran for governor.
Cuccinelli rejected claims of conflict of interest, but earlier this month appointed two private Richmond attorneys to take over the legal defense of the Taxation Department.
In releasing eight years’ worth of tax returns for journalists to review Thursday, Cuccinelli shed some light on the stocks and put pressure on his Democratic rival in the governor’s race, former electric-car company executive and Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, to release his income tax returns.
Asked Thursday if McAuliffe would follow Cuccinelli’s lead, his campaign had no response about its intentions Friday evening.
Cuccinelli’s tax records showed a $4,040 gain from his sale in 2012 of 1,500 Star Scientific shares, all of them purchased in bought in 2010. That paired with the capital loss from last week’s final divestment of Star Scientific stock means Cuccinelli realized a net loss of about $3,000 on his investments with the company.
