Hedge fund founder convicted in inside-trade case

By TOM HAYS, Associated Press

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

(05-11) 07:58 PDT New York, NY (AP) --

A former Wall Street titan was convicted Wednesday of making a fortune by coaxing a crew of corporate tipsters to give him an illegal edge on blockbuster trades in technology and other stocks — what prosecutors called the largest insider trading case ever involving hedge funds.

Raj Rajaratnam was convicted of five conspiracy counts and nine securities fraud charges at the closely watched trial in federal court in Manhattan. The jury had deliberated since April 25, and at one point was forced to start over again when one juror dropped out due to illness.

Prosecutors had alleged the 53-year-old Rajaratnam made profits and avoided losses totaling more than $60 million from illegal tips. His Galleon Group funds, they said, became a multibillion-dollar success at the expense of ordinary stock investors who didn't have advance notice of the earnings of public companies and of mergers and acquisitions.

The verdict came after seven weeks of testimony showcasing wiretaps of Rajaratnam wheeling and dealing behind the scenes with corrupt executives and consultants. Some of the people on the other end of the line pleaded guilty and agreed to take the witness stand against the Sri Lanka-born defendant.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/11/state/n075317D87.DTL

how come its just the punks who get punished?

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not just a "punk.

Rajaratnam. He was a "big fish".

He has also contributed $3.5 million to the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a group whose assets were frozen by the USA due to its alleged close connections to the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).<17><18><19> TRO's offices were raided by the FBI in 2006 but the organization was never charged with any wrongdoing.<20>

The Sri Lankan government has stated that Mr Rajaratnam had contributed for several years of the Sri Lankan Civil War to the LTTE with millions of US dollars and that he was under investigation in Sri Lanka.<21> However, the senior Military official could not give specific details about the alleged contributions to the LTTE. The Sri Lankan government has had a cordial relationship with Mr Rajaratnam and recently accepted a $1 million pledge by him to rehabilitate former LTTE combatants.<13>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Rajaratnam

he was convicted of five conspiracy counts, as well as nine securities fraud counts.

You should stick to topics you actually know something about.

that he is somehow being persecuted, take it to the U.S. Attorney.

leave an easy trail to follow and are not protected by other nationalities?

"The Sri Lanka-born defendant." See, if he was really a member of the Club, he would have been as untouchable as a chairman of Goldman Sachs. But a foreigner with a funny-sounding name? Yeah, toss him overboard and see if that's enough to satisfy the proles.

He has also contributed $3.5 million to the Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO), a group whose assets were frozen by the USA due to its alleged close connections to the Tamil Tigers (LTTE).<17><18><19> TRO's offices were raided by the FBI in 2006 but the organization was never charged with any wrongdoing.<20>

The Sri Lankan government has stated that Mr Rajaratnam had contributed for several years of the Sri Lankan Civil War to the LTTE with millions of US dollars and that he was under investigation in Sri Lanka.<21> However, the senior Military official could not give specific details about the alleged contributions to the LTTE. The Sri Lankan government has had a cordial relationship with Mr Rajaratnam and recently accepted a $1 million pledge by him to rehabilitate former LTTE combatants.<13>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_Rajaratnam

If you have any direct evidence that had anything at all to do with this, present your "evidence" to the U.S. Attorney.

Throwing a funeral for this guy.....Certainly a big fish.

Thanks for that.

As Gupta, former board member of Goldman and ceo of Mckinsey will soon be on trial