By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Roomy Khan, a one-time
technology company executive who became a key FBI informant in
the insider-trading case against hedge-fund manager Raj
Rajaratnam, was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Thursday.
Defense lawyers had sought five years of probation for Khan,
54, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to securities fraud, obstruction
of justice and conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in
Manhattan also ordered she forfeit nearly $1.53 million.
Khan is one of only a few women who have been charged in the
government’s broad insider-trading crackdown, which has involved
money managers, traders, consultants and lawyers.
Her cooperation helped U.S. authorities in the Rajaratnam
prosecution. Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group, was
convicted by a federal jury in May 2011 and is now serving an
11-year prison term.
But prosecutors said Khan also obstructed the investigation,
at times lying to investigators, alerting co-conspirators that
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had contacted her,
and deleting email communications.
Khan, whose voice broke up during her sentencing, said she
was sorry, not just to the court but also to her daughter,
husband and parents. She said she lied to the government to
protect herself, her friends and family and that she engaged in
insider trading to “protect my life and status.”
“As I reflect back, I am horrified by the choices I made,”
she said.
The case is United States v. Khan, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, 09-991.
