US Financier Found Guilty of Stock Fraud

 NEW YORK -- A former director of the Goldman Sachs investment bank, Rajat Gupta, was found guilty Friday of insider trading by a jury in New York. 

After deliberating for two days, the federal jury of eight women and four men found Gupta guilty on three charges of stock fraud and one charge of conspiring¹ to conduct stock fraud. The jury found Gupta not guilty on two stock fraud charges. Sentencing of Gupta is scheduled for October 18. He could face up to 25 years in prison.

During the three-week trial, prosecutors³ said Gupta learned during a Goldman Sachs board meeting that investor⁴ Warren Buffett was going to invest $5 billion in the company. According to prosecutors, Gupta gave that information to his friend and investment partner, Raj Rajaratnam, who bought thousands of shares in Goldman Sachs. When news of the Buffett deal reached the public the next day, Rajaratnam sold the stocks, earning a $1 million profit. Insider trading - selling and buying stock based on information not available to the public - violates U.S. law

During the trial, Gupta’s defense⁵ attorney argued that the evidence against Gupta was circumstantial, not direct, and was based on what he called guesswork and speculation⁶. The government case included e-mails, recorded telephone conversations and trading logs.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who has spearheaded a series of stock fraud prosecutions⁷, said the government will continue to pursue those who violate securities laws, regardless of status, wealth or influence. In a written statement, the prosecutor² said Gupta has now exchanged the lofty board room for the prospect⁸ of a lowly jail cell.

Raj Rajaratnam, a hedge fund manager, was convicted of stock fraud in a separate trial last year and is now serving an 11-year prison term. Attorney Richard Holwell, now in private practice, was the federal judge who presided over Rajaratnam’s trial. He says the conviction of Gupta is a great success for prosecutors in terms of their continued attack against what Holwell calls Wall Street business ethics⁹.

“It’s not a surprising result, actually," he said. "The prosecutor did a great job, of course. But these cases generally turn on circumstantial evidence, on timelines and trading reports. The Rajaratnam case was a little unusual in that respect because of the wiretaps. But if you look back over time, you’ll see conviction after conviction based on facts very similar to the ones that you saw in the Gupta case.”

Gupta, 63, made no statement when he heard the jury’s verdict. His attorney, Gary Naftalis, indicated Gupta will probably appeal the verdict. Naftalis said he believes the facts of this demonstrate that Mr. Gupta is innocent and, he went on, we continue to believe he is innocent of all charges. The lawyer called the trial only round one of this matter.

1 conspiring   

密谋( conspire的现在分词 )； 搞阴谋； （事件等）巧合； 共同导致

参考例句：

• They were accused of conspiring against the king. 他们被指控阴谋反对国王。
• John Brown and his associates were tried for conspiring to overthrow the slave states. 约翰·布朗和他的合伙者们由于密谋推翻实行奴隶制度的美国各州而被审讯。

2 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

3 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。