MANHATTAN (CN) - Raj Rajaratnam was charged Tuesday with 11 counts of securities fraud and an alleged co-conspirator, Danielle Chiesi, with 10 counts in what federal prosecutors call the largest hedge fund inside trading case in history. Rajaratnam was managing member of Galleon Management and Chiesi worked for New Castle Fund, a hedge fund group of Bear Stearns.
Two alleged co-conspirators, Ali Far and Roomy Khan, have pleaded guilty to inside trading charges and are cooperating with prosecutors, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in announcing the new indictments.
Prosecutors say the inside trading involved shares in Hilton Hotels, Google, Clearwire, Advanced Micro Devices, Polycom, and other companies.
Rajaratnam faces five counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and six counts of securities fraud; each count is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and fines.
Chiesi faces three counts of conspiracy and seven counts of securities fraud.
Related criminal charges also have been filed against Mark Kurland, Anil Kumar, Robert Moffat, and Rajiv Goel.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.