Ilya Marritz
Ilya Marritz covers business for WNYC.
Billionaire Galleon Group hedge fund head Raj Rajaratnam
(Spencer Platt/Getty)
New York hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, who was convicted in a vast insider trading scheme, reported to a federal prison in Ayer, Massachusetts, Monday.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said Rajaratnam reported to Federal Medical Center Devens at about 12:30 p.m.
Rajaratnam, 54, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court in October to 11 years in prison — the longest term ever in an insider trading case.
The hedge fund boss was convicted on all 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy.
Prosecutors said Rajaratnam over several years cultivated contacts with knowledge of confidential information about publicly traded companies, and used the information to reap tens of millions of dollars in illegal profits for Galleon hedge fund, which he founded.
The key evidence in the case was hours of wiretap evidence from Rajaratnam's phone conversations with these friends and acquaintances.
After his conviction, Rajaratnam's lawyers petitioned to keep him free on $100 million bail, pending appeal, but a judge declined the motion.
Rajaratnam's new home is a federal facility designed to accommodate inmates needing medical care. Rajaratnam suffers from diabetes.
He is appealing his conviction on the grounds that prosecutors did not obtain proper permissions to tap his phone.
A native of Sri Lanka, Rajaratnam found success as a hedge fund manager in New York. He is known as a patron of several charities, including the Harlem Children's Zone.
With the Associated Press
Comments [3]
I think this was just done to pacify the masses that are angry about the rich getting richer and everyone else getting poorer. I am still confused by the fact that so many others have committed crimes that have left our economy in the ditches and turned many into paupers while they remain free and are not in jail.
Let's see Martha Stewart, and Raj Rajaratnam go to jail. Is there a pattern here?
What about those rich white guys going to jail?
Bernie Madeoff is just the start.
There are more hedge fund managers that need to be brought before a Judge. Our law enforcement officials should not stop with the conviction and prison time for Raj Rajaratnam.
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