Legendary investor Carl Icahn and Las Vegas gambler Billy Walters, subjects of a federal insider-trading probe centered on 2011 activity in Clorox shares, have crossed investing paths before.
Both were early investors in Voltari, a mobile data and marketing company, sources said.
Icahn is currently Voltari’s second-largest shareholder, holding a 14.4 percent stake, and his son, Brett, and son-in-law, Hunter Gary, are on its board.
Voltari, which went public on June 17, 2010, at $10 a share has fallen from $310 five months after its IPO to $2.40 on Friday.
The insider-trading investigation by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission, is focused on Icahn, Walters and pro golfer Phil Mickelson, according to reports.
At the center of the probe, reports said, are suspicious trades by Mickelson and Walters right before Icahn made a $10 billion offer for Clorox in July of 2011 — and the stock shot up.
Mickelson, who has said he is cooperating with authorities, is suspected of getting the tips from Walters, who has declined to comment. The Vegas sports gambler has been indicted several times before, but nothing stuck.
None of the men have been charged with any wrongdoing in the matter.
The 78-year-old Icahn told The Post Friday night that he has never engaged in insider trading.
“We are always very careful to observe all legal requirements in all of our actions,” he said. “I’m very proud of my record and I’ve never given out insider information. I’m very careful. That’s why I have an unblemished record.”
Former colleagues agree with that assessment.
“He is armed to the teeth with lawyers,” said one source, who added, “This is the kind of thing that terrifies Carl. He pisses off a lot of people and plays with a huge amount of money.”
“It’s highly unlikely that Carl would ever let slip or tell anyone else what his coming takeover battles are,” said a former Icahn executive.
“He would never reward anyone that would put himself at risk,” he added. In fact, other investors have groused that even when they’ve tried to curry favor with Icahn by offering him ideas, those favors were never reciprocated.
During the three-year investigation, the feds tried to get someone in the Icahn organization to cooperate, according to reports, but those efforts went nowhere.
There is no indication that either the younger Icahn or Gary are under investigation.
Brett Icahn and Gary could not be reached for comment.