Iconix Founder Cole Cleared on Appeal After Two Fraud Trials (1)

Iconix Brand Group founder and former chief executive officer Neil Cole was cleared by a federal appeals court in New York of charges that he inflated the apparel licenser’s earnings and misled investors a decade ago.

A jury found Cole not guilty in 2021 of two counts of conspiracy but deadlocked on eight other charges, resulting in a mistrial. The following year, he was found guilty on those charges and sentenced to spend 18 years in prison.

But in a ruling Monday, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said he should not have faced another trial under ...