Collins, 69, from Buffalo, New York, is hoping to avoid prison when he is sentenced in the District Court in Manhattan on Friday.

The former member of the US House of Representatives and wealthy businessman was a major investor and board member of Innate Immunotherapeutics, a small biotech firm with office in Sydney and Auckland.

On June 22, 2017, Innate emailed Collins - who was at a White House congressional picnic - with the confidential news clinical trials for their potential "breakthrough" multiple sclerosis drug had failed.

Just minutes later Collins, knowing the news would tank Innate's stock price, breached his duties as a board member by calling his son, Cameron Collins, who also was a substantial Innate shareholder.

"Given Mr Collins' personal wealth, I can only think that he had something akin to a 'brain explosion' upon learning of the completely unexpected clinical trial result," Innate's chief executive at the time of the trial, Simon Wilkinson, wrote in a letter to sentencing judge Vernon Broderick.

"The financial loss to immediate members of his family arising from the trial failure were, I believe, easily within his financial resources to 'put right' by the simple act of buying back the shares at the original cost to the family members."

Mr Wilkinson, from Kaiapoi, New Zealand, and Innate's Sydney-based former chairman, Michael Quinn, were among more than 100 friends and colleagues, including past and present Republican members of Congress, who wrote letters of support to Judge Broderick ahead of the sentencing.

Mr Quinn told the judge Collins has "already paid a high price for his uncharacteristic single lapse of judgement".

"Your Honour, as you ponder sentencing, may I request that you give consideration to Chris' terrible reversal of personal circumstances and weigh his natural emotional but erroneous response to bad news against his huge support of the company and the years of contribution to his upstate New York community," Mr Quinn wrote.

Cameron Collins, after receiving the confidential drug trial failure information from his father, sold approximately 1.391 million shares of Innate stock before the trial results went public.

Prosecutors said Cameron Collins avoided approximately $US570,900 ($A827,151) in losses.

Cameron Collins tipped off three others, including his fiancee's father Stephen Zarsky, and they avoided approximately $US186,620 ($A270,385) in losses.

Chris Collins entered guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and one count of making false statements to the FBI.

Both charges carry maximum five-year prison sentences.

Cameron Collins, 26, and Zarsky, 67, also entered guilty pleas to participating in a scheme to commit insider trading and will be sentenced next week.

Probation officers recommend both men spend six months behind bars.

Australian Associated Press