Raj Rajaratnam Indicted On Security Fraud Charges

Raj Rajaratnam, one of the U.S.' wealthiest men as the head of the Galleon Group hedge fund who was arrested in October, was indicted Tuesday on charges of using insider information to make illegal traders.

As NPR Jim Zarroli reported for the network's newscast:

Rajaratnam was charged with five counts of conspiracy and six counts of securities fraud. Also named was Danielle Cheisi, a former consultant to New Castle Partners.

The two are the first persons to be criminally indicted in the case. Prosecutors say a vast network of people were part of the scheme which involved using insider information to boost stock trading profits.

While some of them have pleaded guilty, the government is expected to pursue criminal charges against other defendants. Rajaratnam's lawyer issued a statement saying he is innocent and looks forward to his day in court when a jury of his fellow citizens will examine and evaluate all of the evidence.

 

Rajaratnam is apparently a big Kenny Rogers fan, according to Dealbreaker.com:

The Galleon Group put out an (awesome) rap about itself a few years ago but apparently its accused co-founder Raj Rajaratnam's tastes swing a bit more country. One Greenwich neighbor (the hedge fund manager maintains residences at Sutton Place in New York and at 577 Round Hill Road in Connecticut) tells Dealbreaker that Raj spent millions to have Kenny Rogers perform at his home.

"Raj paid $4 million to have Kenny Rogers come to a birthday party at his house and sing his favorite song, 'The Gambler,' over and over again. Kenny refused to go on after a dozen times."

Update: Kenny Rogers' agent called and had this to say about Raj-Raj's country music lovin' party: "Kenny did play for Galleon in Greenwich during September 2007 but we don't discuss payment for the artist." Team Kenny won't admit if it's more or less than $4m but said $4 million was not the amount of the contract. He also claims Rogers didn't do a song repeat a dozen times, but only a few.