Q. I love "Shark Tank." Most of all, I love Mark Cuban. I read he was having legal issues. Can you explain what they are and also give me some information about him? — Reggie of Fort Myers, Fla.

A. Glad to give you the insider scoop on Cuban. The Federal Government is suing Cuban for insider trading. His legal issues are presently unfolding in court, and a verdict will most likely be handed down on Oct. 14th. Several years ago, a judge decided Cuban was not culpable and dismissed the charges. Earlier this year, SEC reopened the case. It went before the same judge. This time the judge decided it should go to trail. Just the other day, the defenses' motion for a mistrial was denied. Cuban learned that the case was reopened when it was announced on MSNBC.

The billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner told jurors in federal court Monday that the news made him "sick to [his] stomach." Cuban testified that he could have settled the case — he's not likely to face more than $2 million to $3 million in fines and penalties if he loses. That fine would be chump change for Cuban, who is a billionaire four times over, but he hired lawyers and fought back because "I did nothing wrong and I refuse to be bullied."

Monday marked Cuban's second day on the witness stand. The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Cuban, claiming that he broke a confidentiality agreement when he unloaded his shares in a Canadian Internet company in 2004. The government says he avoided $750,000 in losses by selling his shares on insider information about a pending stock offering before it was announced publicly.

Cuban is quite the character. Born in Pittsburgh to a middle-class family, he started his first business when he was 12. "I wanted a pair of expensive shoes. I knew I was not going to get the money from my dad. I sold garbage bags door to door and made the money." His first high-flying venture was the company MicroSolutions, with support from his previous customers from Your Business Software. MicroSolutions was initially a system integrator and software reseller. The company was an early proponent of technologies such as Carbon Copy, Lotus Notes and CompuServe.One of the company's largest clients was Perot Systems. In 1990, Cuban sold MicroSolutions to CompuServe — then a subsidiary of H and R Block — for $6 million. He made approximately $2 million after taxes on the deal. Having to give so much money to Uncle Sam may be one of the reasons he often aligns himself with the Libertarian party.

The married father of three never shirks from a controversy. When Donald Trump offered President Obama five million dollars to his favorite charity, to turn over his birth certificate, Cuban counter offered. He offered Trump a million dollars to charity if Trump would shave his head. So far, the millions are still floating around.

A few years back he said he did not think the commissioner of football was fit to run a Dairy Queen. Challenged by a group of workers, Cuban worked as a Dairy Queen manager for a day. After his shift, Cuban apologized and said that working the line was, "The hardest job I have ever had."

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