George Holley, former chief executive officer and chairman of Home Diagnostics Inc., avoided prison when he was sentenced to three years of probation for insider trading. Holley, 72, was sentenced today in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, where he pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to two counts of securities fraud in his trial’s eighth day. Holley faced between 33 and 41 months in prison under advisory sentencing guidelines, according to his attorney, Kevin Marino. U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano also fined him $260,000. Pisano had dismissed some of the charges at trial after prosecutors rested their case, Marino said. Holley admitted tipping his cousin and a friend that Osaka, Japan-based Nipro Corp. (8086), a maker of medical equipment, would buy his company. Prosecutors said he told them to buy Home Diagnostics stock three weeks before the merger was announced. “We always felt that a probationary sentence was appropriate in this case, and we are very gratified that that sentence was ultimately imposed,” Marino said. “Mr. Holley has lived an extraordinary life marked by generosity of spirit and philanthropy. He regrets his foolish mistake.” Matthew Reilly, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, declined to comment on the sentence. Nipro bought the company for $215 million in February 2010. Shares of Home Diagnostics, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, rose 89 percent after the announcement. The subsidiary, which makes blood glucose monitoring systems and disposable supplies for diabetics, is now known as Nipro Diagnostics.
