The federal judge noted that several jurors cried as they delivered their guilty verdict “because they recognized this was a person with some very good attributes.”
However, Gupta’s feeding of secret business information about Goldman Sachs to Rajaratnam at the height of the 2008 Wall Street financial crisis was “disgusting” and the “equivalent of stabbing Goldman in the back.”
The corrosive effect of insider trading, Rakoff said, “is to place in jeopardy the value of the marketplace, which is one of the most valuable assets the country possesses.”
Bharara said after the sentencing that Gupta had “forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate.”
“We hope that others who might consider breaking the securities laws will heed this sad occasion and choose not to follow in Mr Gupta’s footsteps,” Bharara added.
At the FBI, Acting Assistant Director in Charge Mary Galligan said that Gupta’s disgrace was a warning to others.
“He broke the law. That is what he has to answer for today. The sentence imposed should send a clear message: providing a tip to a friend, when the tip is insider information, has consequences,” she said.
Securities attorney Mark Rifkin said Rakoff correctly balanced both the good and bad in Gupta’s record.
“As a former prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer, Judge Rakoff understood both sides of the argument, and the relatively light sentence he imposed balances Gupta’s misuse of his position against a lifetime of good work,” Rifkin said.
