Another Attorney Takes Plea in Galleon Case, Admits Connecting Trader with Ex-Ropes & Gray Lawyers
Another lawyer has pleaded guilty in a securities fraud case related to Galleon Group and co-founder Raj Rajaratnam.
Personal injury attorney Jason Goldfarb, 32, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Manhattan to securities fraud and conspiracy, according to Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Sentencing guidelines call for him to get between three and four years and pay a fine of between $7,500 and $5 million.
In court today he admitted to helping a former Galleon trader who sought him out make a connection with his former college roommate, Arthur Cutillo, and Brien Santarlas. Both are accused of, while working at Ropes & Gray, passing confidential corporate information they obtained at the firm to trader Zvi Goffer.
Cutillo and Santarlas previously pleaded guilty concerning their roles. Goffer has pleaded not guilty and is expected to go to trial, with three other defendants, next month, the articles note..
Goffer allegedly made some $1 million from illegal trading based on inside information provided by the now-former Ropes & Gray lawyers, passing $97,500 on to Goldfarb to share with the two other attorneys.
Rajaratnam is accused of earning $63.8 million from insider trading. A federal jury is expected to begin deliberating soon in his trial, which concluded this week, another Bloomberg article reports.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Former N.Y. Associate Disbarred After Fraud Conviction”
ABAJournal.com: “2nd Former Ropes & Gray Associate Pleads Guilty in Insider-Trading Case”
ABAJournal.com: “Judge OKs Rajaratnam Wiretaps in Galleon Insider-Trading Case”
