New York (HedgeCo.Net) – U.S. attorney Preet Bharara lost his first hedge fund insider trading case when Rengan Rajaratnam was acquitted by a jury in New York of the charges that he was conspiring with his older brother, the imprisoned hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, to cheat on Wall Street and earn nearly $1.2 million illegally. He is still facing civil charges from the SEC.

“Today is the day Rengan has been waiting for,” Daniel Gitner, Rajaratnam’s lawyer, said. “We thank the jury for its careful attention. Rengan looks forward to getting on with his life.”

Preet Bharara, also known as “The Sheriff Of Wall Street” broke his perfect record yesterday when he lost after a string of victories from an insider trading probe where he won convictions or guilty pleas from 85 other defendants.

“While we are disappointed with the verdict on the sole count that the jury was permitted to consider, we respect the jury trial system whatever the outcome, and we thank the jury for their service.” Bharara said in a statement. “This Office maintains its faith in the criminal justice system, a system that has resulted in the convictions by trial or guilty plea of 85 other defendants on insider trading charges. We will continue to seek justice in the investigation and prosecution of those who violate the securities laws of the United States.”

Rengan was a portfolio manager at the hedge fund Galleon Group, and the trades for which he was charged resulted in nearly 1.2 million dollars of illegal profit, according to prosecutors. The defendant was charged with six counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy.

Alex Akesson
For HedgeCo.net
alex@hedgeco.net
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