Rajaratnam, 54, whose Galleon Group managed $7 billion at its peak, could face almost 25 years in prison. His lawyers are asking for a shorter term, arguing he is in poor health and does not deserve a two-decade prison term akin to what a violent offender would receive.
A sentence of 15 years for Rajaratnam may suit the crime and send a warning to others on Wall Street, said St. John's University business professor Anthony Sabino. "The court has to balance he is a first offender, that this is stock fraud, not murder," Sabino said.
A Sri Lankan-born U.S. citizen, Rajaratnam is the central figure in a sweeping insider trading case that touched some of America's top companies, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Intel Corp, IBM and the elite McKinsey & Co consultancy. It is the biggest insider trading case since the 1980s-era prosecutions of speculator Ivan Boesky and junk-bond financier Michael Milken.
The Galleon founder was arrested in October 2009 after an investigation marked by the most extensive use of secret FBI phone taps in a white collar case. Such tactics usually are reserved for Mafia and drug trafficking investigations.
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