URGENT >> BULLETIN >> MOVING: Raj Rajaratnam Guilty In Insider-Trading Case; Sentence Potentially Could Exceed Madoff’s 150 Years

BULLETIN: Raj Rajaratnam has been found guilty of all 14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud filed against him in the Galleon Group insider-trading case.

The verdict came on the 12th day of jury deliberations. It deals a devastating blow to Rajaratnam, but is a major win for prosecutors. The case was brought by the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York.

Rajaratnam, 53, once was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the wealthiest men in the United States. Prosecutors said that crime ultimately became his business model. Wiretaps and recordings were used to convict him.

The Justice Department has said it recent months that tools traditionally used in organized-crime investigation have been helpful in exposing white-collar fraud.

“Raj Rajaratnam, once a high-flying billionaire and hedge fund manager, is now a convicted felon, 14 times over,” Bharara said. “Rajaratnam was among the best and the brightest — one of the most educated, successful and privileged professionals in the country. Yet, like so many others recently, he let greed and corruption cause his undoing. The message today is clear — there are rules and there are laws, and they apply to everyone, no matter who you are or how much money you have.”

Insider trading “cheats the ordinary investor, victimizes the companies whose information is stolen, and is an affront not only to the fairness of the market, but the rule of law,” Bharara said.

Rajaratnam traded illegally in the stock of Goldman Sachs, Clearwire, Akamai, AMD, Intel, Polycom and PeopleSupport, prosecutors said, describing the case as the “largest hedge fund insider trading scheme in history.”

He potentially faces up to 205 years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 29. Prosecutors said he gained nearly $64 million by trading on material, nonpublic information culled from fellow cheaters.

Rajaratnam remains free pending sentencing. He has been placed on electronic monitoring.

The SEC provided “extraordinary assistance,” Bharara said. The FBI led the criminal probe and also received praise from Bharara.