Grifters. Grifters everywhere.

A disgraced former US congressman and one of US President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters has been sentenced to prison for an illegal stock tip about an Australian Stock Exchange-listed biotech firm.

Chris Collins, 69, wept in a Manhattan court on Friday as he apologised to his family.

“I stand here today as a disgraced former member of Congress,” Collins, sentenced to 26 months in federal prison, said.

“My life has been shattered.”

Collins was a multi-millionaire businessman from Buffalo, New York, who turned to politics, was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2012 and was one of the first sitting members of Congress to support Mr Trump as a presidential candidate.

He was also a big fan of Innate Immunotherapeutics, a small biotech firm with offices in Sydney and Auckland.

smh.com.au

Womp womp.