Steve Buyer

Steve Buyer
Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byLane Evans
Succeeded byBob Filner
Chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee
In office
January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byChris Smith
Succeeded byBob Filner
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Indiana
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byJim Jontz
Succeeded byTodd Rokita
Constituency5th district (1993–2003)
4th district (2003–2011)
Personal details
Born (1958-11-26) November 26, 1958 (age 66)
Rensselaer, Indiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJoni Buyer
Children2
EducationThe Citadel (BS)
Valparaiso University (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1984–1987 (active)
1980–2011 (reserve)
RankColonel
UnitArmy Judge Advocate General's Corps
Battles/warsGulf War
Criminal details
Criminal statusSentenced
Criminal chargeInsider trading
Penalty22 months in prison
Forfeit $354,027
Pay a 10,000 dollar fine

Stephen Earle Buyer (/ˈbjər/ BOO-yər;[1] born November 26, 1958) is an American former politician who served as the U.S. representative for Indiana's 4th congressional district, and previously the 5th district, from 1993 until 2011. In July 2022, Buyer was arrested and charged with insider trading for buying shares of Sprint and Navigant Consulting before both were acquired by other companies, which he knew through his consulting work before the information was made public. Buyer was found guilty in 2023 and sentenced to 22 months in prison. [2] He is a member of the Republican Party.

In Congress, Buyer served as one of the House managers (prosecutors) in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999. He also chaired the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs from 2005 to 2007.

On January 29, 2010, Buyer announced he would not seek a tenth term to the House to spend more time with his wife, who has an incurable autoimmune disease. Buyer was also under investigation for ethics violations with respect to the Frontier Foundation that he had founded.[3][4] In 2012, Buyer started working for R.J. Reynolds, promoting the use of smokeless tobacco.

  1. ^ Buyer's own website on pronunciation of his name Archived March 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sentenced was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ WISH Staff (January 29, 2010). "Rep Buyer: "I plan to complete my term". WISHTV 8. Archived from the original on February 7, 2010.
  4. ^ "Rep. Steve Buyer to Quit House Amid Accusations of Ethics Transgressions". January 29, 2010.