Former hedge-fund titan Raj Rajaratnam reported to prison Monday afternoon to begin serving a sentence of more than 11 years after he was convicted in May on insider-trading charges.
Last Thursday, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bid to remain free on bail while he challenges his conviction on conspiracy and securities fraud charges. He was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison in October, the longest term ever imposed in an insider-trading case.
On appeal, Rajaratnam, whom prosecutors have called the “modern face of insider trading” is expected to argue that a series of wiretap recordings shouldn’t have been allowed into evidence in his trial because they were improperly obtained. The recordings were a key component of the government’s case.
A spokesman at the Federal Medical Center Devens in Massachusetts said Rajaratnam, 54 years old, reported to the prison to begin serving his sentence about 12:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
Rajaratnam, the founder of hedge-fund firm Galleon Group, suffers from a variety of health problems and is seeking a kidney transplant. Prior to his sentencing, his lawyers argued that Rajaratnam would likely die behind bars if given a lengthy prison term.
A spokeswoman for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, which is representing Rajaratnam, declined comment.