Raj Rajaratnam

For other uses, see Rajaratnam.

Raj Rajaratnam
Raj Rajaratnam on media
Born
Rajakumaran Rajaratnam[1]

(1957-06-15) June 15, 1957 (age 67)[2]
Colombo, Sri Lanka
CitizenshipAmerican[3]
Alma mater
OccupationHedge fund manager
RelativesJ. M. Rajaratnam (father)
Rajeswari Muttucumaru (mother)
Rengan Rajaratnam (brother)
Rajakanthan Rajaratnam (brother)
Shanthini Rajaratnam (sister)
Vathani Rajaratnam (sister)

Rajakumaran Rajaratnam (born June 15, 1957) is a Sri Lankan-American former hedge fund manager and founder of the Galleon Group, a New York-based hedge fund management firm.[4][5] He is also the author of his memoir, Uneven Justice: The Plot to Sink Galleon.

In 2008, Raj was listed as the 262nd richest man in the United States, according to the latest Forbes list of the 400 Richest Americans.[6]

Raj Rajaratnam is seen during the release of the Tamil version of the book Uneven Justice with Jaffna Teaching Hospital Director Dr. Thangamuthu Sathiyamoorthy (right) and Fintech Association of Sri Lanka President Rajkumar Kanagasingam (left) on January 20, 2024 at the Hoover Auditorium, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna.

On October 16, 2009, he was arrested by the FBI for insider trading, which also caused the Galleon Group to fold.[7] He stood trial in U.S. v. Rajaratnam (09 Cr. 01184) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and on May 11, 2011, was found guilty on all 14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud.[8] On October 13, 2011, Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years in prison[9] and fined a criminal and civil penalty of over $150 million combined.[10]

Rajaratnam was incarcerated at Federal Medical Center, Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts, an administrative facility housing male offenders requiring specialized or long-term medical or mental health care. Rajaratnam was released to home confinement in his Upper East Side Manhattan apartment, located on Sutton Place, in the summer of 2019.

Rajaratnam being released after 7 1/2 years, published his memoir, Uneven Justice, detailing the events surrounding his insider trading conviction and the alleged prosecutorial overreach he claims took place.

  1. ^ Birth name per Naturalization records at ancestry.com
  2. ^ Berenson, Alex (November 9, 2009). "Swagger in the Spotlight". The New York Times. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference RRH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Berenson, Alex (November 2, 2009). "For Galleon Executive, Swagger in the Spotlight". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  5. ^ "#236 Raj Rajaratnam". Forbes. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  6. ^ "Financial Times - Rajaratnam: Rich American from Sri Lanka". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Michael J. De La Merced; Zachery Kouwe (October 18, 2009). "Arrest of Hedge Fund Chief Unsettles the Industry". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  8. ^ "Rajaratnam Guilty on All Counts in U.S. Insider-Trading Case", Bloomberg.com, May 11, 2011
  9. ^ Irwin, Neil (February 28, 2011). "Hedge fund billionaire gets 11-year sentence in fraud case". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  10. ^ "Judge fines Rajaratnam $92 million". Hindustan Times. New York. Associated Press. November 9, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2011.