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Raj Rajaratnam was given a sentence of 11 years on Thursday Oct. 13 for securities fraud.
He also must pay a $10 million fine.
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This is the longest sentence to ever be handed down to an individual convicted of insider trading, or the illegal exchange of confidential information.
Judge Richard Holwell sentenced the former head of the Galleon Group hedge fund to 11 years after being convicted of nine counts of insider trading and five counts of conspiracy, according to The New York Times.
"His crimes and the scope of his crimes reflect a virus in our business culture that needs to be eradicated," Judge Holwell said.
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Rajaratnam weaved a strategic web of informants from companies such as I.B.M., Intel, and McKinsey & Company to reap the rewards of $64 million.
Initially, reports said that Rajaratnam could face a quarter-century term of 25 years.
A 24-year sentence would exceed the average federal sentences for sexual abuse, kidnapping and even murder.
Many disagreed with such a severe sentencing.
"The disparity between the proposed sentence for Rajaratnam and the sentences his co-conspirators received is excessive, well beyond what the guidelines contemplate when they allow credit for substantial assistance and acceptance of responsibility," says Artur Davis, a partner at SNR Denton, an international law firm.
"A fair sentencing regime should not reflect such a dramatic difference in penalty between individuals who committed the same core offenses."
Davis was a former federal prosecutor himself.
He believes that what Rajaratnam did not merit an extremely harsh punishment because "his crimes did not imperil the larger economic market or the hedge fund industry."
The New York Times emphasizes how this case is an historic one in terms of even the 11-year sentence.
