This is one time where money walks and bullspit talks.
Disgraced Wall Street fat cat Rajat Gupta was facing 8-10 years in prison for his role in feeding insider trading information to now jailed former Galleon Group hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam — nicknamed “Hedge Hog” — which earned Rajaratnam up to $75 million illegally. Gupta testified at Rajaratnam’s trial and as a result, Rajaratnam got 11 years in the slammer.
However, after Gupta was found guilty- he was convicted of three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy – Gupta got an amazingly light sentence – only two years, with an additional $5 million fine – peanuts compared to what Gupta earned crookedly in the past several years.
This sentence was passed down by U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff, after prosecutors told the judge that Gupta “belonged behind bars anywhere from eight to 10 years because he showed ‘above-the-law arrogance’ while feeding Rajaratnam inside tips between March 2007 and January 2009, sometimes within seconds of learning the information.
However, Judge Rakoff (which rhymes with J***off) said the guidelines were too tough, and he gave Rupta a slight slap on the wrist.
What’s even more amazing is that Gupta’s lawyers were arguing for no jail time at all, since Rupta had been doing charitable work in Rwanda.
RWANDA!!
Who the flip cares?
One hedge fund) cheat (Rajaratnam) gets 11 years in jail, and the man who fed him the inside information (Rupta) gets only 2 years behind bars.
Maybe this is the way justice works in Rwanda, but it’s not the way justice should work in the United States of America.
Judge Rakoff – are you listening?
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/wall-st-fat-cat-2-years-article-1.1191342
The Wall Street fat cat who fed inside information to the infamous “Hedge Hog” is going to prison — not Rwanda.
Rajat Gupta, who had pleaded to be allowed to pay for his crimes by doing charity work in the African country, was sentenced Wednesday to two years behind bars and a $5 million fine in the biggest insider trading case in U.S. history.
“With today’s sentence, Rajat Gupta now must face the grave consequences of his crime – a term of imprisonment,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
“His conduct has forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate. We hope that others who might consider breaking the securities laws will take heed from this sad occasion and choose not to follow in Mr. Gupta’s footsteps.”
The ex-Goldman Sachs director was convicted of feeding info to now-jailed hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam — nicknamed “Hedge Hog” — that earned him up to $75 million illegally.
Gupta, 63, of Westport, Conn., was the highest-ranking executive ensnared in a four-year investigation of his billionaire buddy, who headed the corrupt Galleon Group and was busted in October 2009 — and is now serving 11 years in prison.
Prosecutors argued that Gupta belonged behind bars anywhere from eight to 10 years because he showed “above-the-law arrogance” while feeding Rajaratnam inside tips between March 2007 and January 2009, sometimes within seconds of learning the information.
They said Rajaratnam used the inside dope to make millions in illegal profits for him and his investors.
“Gupta’s crimes are extraordinarily serious and damaging to the capital markets,” the government wrote. “It understandably fuels cynicism among the investing public that Wall Street is rigged and that Wall Street professionals unfairly exploit privileged access to information.”
Gupta’s defenders argued that jailing him would be a disservice to humanity and asked that he be allowed to continue doing the AIDS and anti-poverty work he’s done for years in Rwanda.
“The conduct for which he was convicted represents an isolated aberration and a stark departure from this personal history,” his lawyers wrote.
They also cited Gupta’s efforts to help development in his native India and produced more than 400 letters written on his behalf, including documents signed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
csiemaszko@nydailynews.com
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