NEW YORK — A one-time billionaire who is the lead defendant in the largest hedge-fund insider-trading case ever didn’t take the stand to tell his side of the story, and closing arguments are set for Wednesday.
Defense attorney John Dowd announced Monday that he was finished calling witnesses after his week-long presentation on behalf of Raj Rajaratnam, a Sri Lankan-born hedge- fund founder who became one of the most well-known names on Wall Street.
Prosecutors played another audio recording of a phone conversation, one of dozens played for the jury over seven weeks as they try to convince the panel that Rajaratnam made $68 million illegally.
Rajaratnam’s lawyers called a number of witnesses to rebut the claims and support their argument that Rajaratnam traded only on information that was publicly available.
Among the witnesses was Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children’s Zone and a New York education advocate featured in the documentary “Waiting for Superman.” Canada, who signed Raj aratnam’s $100 million bond to help secure his release after his October 2009 arrest, said Raj aratnam was “a dear friend of mine.”
Rajaratnam founded the Galleon Group of hedge funds a decade ago, but the funds closed after his arrest. He has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and securities-fraud charges.
Since his arrest, more than two dozen other traders and employees of public companies have been charged in a crackdown by federal authorities on insider trading. Nineteen have pleaded guilty.
FBI Assistant Director Janice Fedarcyk last week said authorities began a probe of the hedge-fund industry three years ago, dubbing the investigation “Perfect Hedge.” During the trial, prosecutors presented taped conversations in which Rajaratnam can be heard talking about trades he made before his October 2009 arrest.
