Former Goldman Sachs Director Rajat Gupta was sentenced to two years in United States federal prison Wednesday, after being convicted of supplying confidential information to a jailed hedge fund boss.
Gupta, 63, was convicted on four counts of conspiracy and securities fraud for leaking private insider information about Goldman Sachs to hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, his friend and colleague, who is currently serving 11 years in federal prison after a government crackdown on insider trading.
Prosecutors asked that Gupta receive eight to ten years in prison.
Gupta’s attorneys argued that he should receive only probation and community service on the grounds Gupta didn’t profit from the crimes and that he had a history of charitable work.
The court received over 400 letters in support of Gupta ahead of sentencing from supporters including Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, according to CNN.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff handed down the sentence, questioning why Gupta had turned his back on his "selfless" life to commit a crime he did not profit from directly.
According to Reuters, Rakoff described Gupta's crime as "the functional equivalent of stabbing Goldman in the back.”
Gupta will also have to pay a $5 million dollar fine.
His attorneys said they will appeal.
