Thanks To The Obama Administration, Hedge Fund Billionaire Sentenced To 11 Yrs. + $10 Million Fine

[ClarkUSA]

Don't Believe The Spin: False narratives which depict President Obama as a "corporate shill" are again debunked by this administration's unprecedented actions to hold Wall Street criminals to account.

No wonder crooked Wall Street tycoons are turning to their would-be savior Mitt Romney...

The fallen hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam received the longest prison sentence on record for insider trading on Thursday, a watershed moment in the government’s aggressive two-year campaign to root out the illegal exchange of confidential information on Wall Street.




Judge Richard J. Holwell sentenced Mr. Rajaratnam, the former head of the Galleon Group hedge fund, to 11 years in prison. Mr. Rajaratnam was also fined $10 million. A jury convicted him of securities fraud and conspiracy in May after a two-month trial... “We can only hope that this case will be the wake-up call we said it should be when Mr. Rajaratnam was arrested, ” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for Manhattan, said in a statement. “Privileged professionals do not get a free pass to pursue profit through corrupt means.”... The 11-year sentence was significantly lower than the range of roughly 19 to 24 years requested by the government. Judge Holwell cited Mr. Rajaratnam’s charitable works and his medical problems as reasons to give him a shorter sentence than prosecutors had requested. In addition to Mr. Madoff, Lee B. Farkas, a former mortgage company executive, received 30 years for his role in a $2.9 billion bank fraud scheme. Last month, Adley H. Abdulwahab, who was convicted of participating in a $100 million fraud scheme that preyed on retirees, was sentenced to 60 years in prison... Zvi Goffer, a former trader at Galleon, received a 10-year prison term, matching the longest previous sentence for insider trading. The average sentence of the 13 other defendants connected to Mr. Rajaratnam’s case is about three years.

Mr. Bharara, the United States attorney, has spearheaded the government’s crackdown on insider trading ...His office, working in many cases with the Securities and Exchange Commission, has obtained insider-trading charges against 52 people during the last two years.... For the first time in an insider-trading inquiry, the government used wiretaps to secretly record the phone conversations of hedge fund traders... Mr. Rajaratnam’s lawyers are expected to focus their appeal on attacking the judge’s decision to admit the wiretapped calls as evidence. They will argue, among other things, that Congress has not authorized the use of wiretap surveillance for insider-trading cases. But most lawyers say the odds of a reversal are low.

The government placed Mr. Rajaratnam and his hedge fund, Galleon, which at its peak managed $7 billion, at the center of what it billed as the largest hedge fund insider-trading case ever brought.... With no parole in the federal prison system, he will serve out his entire sentence, though he can get a slight reduction for good behavior.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/rajaratnam-is-sentenced-to-11-years/?hp

:redbox: In other news which is a testament to President Obama's determination to prosecute Wall Street criminals, Robert Khuzami, the Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission since February 2009 has created a culture change from BushCo's lax SEC oversight:

In April 2010, the SEC dramatically stepped up its game by suing Goldman Sachs for fraud during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, targeting the marketing of toxic and complex financial products whose value was derived from faulty home loans... Just three months later in July 2010, Goldman paid a record $550 million fine to settle the suit, the largest ever assessed by the SEC against a financial company... Khuzami has aggressively stepped up the SEC's enforcement role. In 2009, the agency launched nearly 500 investigations, double the 2008 level, and ordered companies to pay 35 percent more in fines and repay 170 percent more in illicit funds.

http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Robert_Khuzami

:bluebox: For those who think President Obama can do more, by all means help the Obama administration send more Wall Street criminals to jail by gathering factual evidence which can stand up in a court of law that you believe will secure jury convictions, then go contact Mr. Bharara at the U.S. State Attorney's office in New York.

[Sheepshank]

1. shouldn't this be bookmarked

and rubbed in a few faces everytime one 'those' posts are made? You know, the ones that says Obama hasn't lifted a finger to prosecute any of the financial fraudsters? He lets the all off because he's one of them?

K & R

[sabrina 1]

32. Obama just said this week that there was no crime committed

by Wall St., just 'immorality'. So how does this prosecution have anything to do with him? According to him, this guy was just 'immoral'. And this is small fry btw.

Have you read Sen. Levin's Committee's findings on the Financial Crisis? Did you know that that Committee spent two years investigating the Wall Street collapse of our economy and that they recommended their findings to the DOJ?

Any news about what has happened to those recommendations? If Obama read that report, why would he say there was not 'crime' involved?

[banned from Kos]

37. Nonsense! Obama said that MORTGAGES were not a crime.

The kind that Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide sold to people - the subprime, the Option ARMs, the 150% LTVs, NINJA loans, etc.

And like it or not, they are still not a crime. Of course, banks don't want to make them anymore. And they are STILL immoral.

[1monster]

52. The mortgages themselves may not be a crime (and that's debatable) but many, if not most, of

the foreclosures are. When they forge other people's names on to legal papers, that's a crime. When they foreclose on homes for which they don't own the mortgages, that's a crime... some of those homes never even had a mortgage to begin with, or had mortgages with different banks than were foreclosing. When they wait to post payments on mortgages so that they can add secret late fees which in turn makes subsequent payments short, ergo late and more fees are added, then foreclose; that's fraud and also a crime.

There's enough criminal activity going on with mortgages to fill quite a few of those private industry prisons. But it'll never happen. Money talks -- even the money the banks stole from us. Unfortuately, it's talking for the ones who stole it from us, not for us.

[ClarkUSA]

150. There's been a $20,000,000,000 settlement which will go entirely to helping distressed homeowners.

I have read that banks have also had to stop all foreclosure proceedings related to their robo-signings and have had to renegotiate the loans in courts.

“Eric and I agree on a tremendous amount here,” he said in an interview. “The disagreement is around whether we should wait to settle and resolve the issues around the servicing practices for him — and potentially other AGs and other federal agencies — to complete investigations on the securitization side. He might argue that he has more leverage that way, but our view is we have the immediate opportunity to help a huge number of borrowers to stay in their homes, to help their neighborhoods and the housing market.”

.... An early proposal of a settlement indicated that banks would have to pay about $20 billion to settle the matter, and those funds would in turn go to help homeowners modify their mortgages and stay in their homes.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/1091-housing/177741-new-york-ag-under-white-house-pressure-on-mortgage-settlement

Getting money to distressed homeowners earlier sounds like the good call here.

[sabrina 1]

174. Yes, allowing them to buy their way out of their crimes.

Where are the prosecutions of the Wall Street crooks? This OP is about some insider trading, this kind of crime gets prosecuted successfully relatively often under all Administrations. But this has zero to do with letting the Wall Street criminals buy their way out of being prosecuted. Until they are, nothing is going to change. They made trillions, a few billion is part of their business expenses. And they are still in business with little to stop them from doing it all over again. Still giving themselves huge rewards for their crimes.

This is the heart of the problem that has caused people to take to the streets around the Globe. Until there is accountability for these historic crimes, there is no justice and our system of laws is a joke.

If you wish to continue to defend this, that is your business, but you are part of a very small minority on this, governments are going to have to respond to the overwhelming demands of their people to start arresting the crooks, including Govt agents and agencies that assisted them, as they did in Iceland, or else be removed from office themselves. This is the one issue that approx. 80% of the populations of the world agree on and any politician who fails to do their duty, is on the wrong side of history.

[sabrina 1]

82. Now you're making it worse.

Forging thousands of documents to deceive investors in the Mortgage subprime scandal is not a crime? I knew we no longer abide by the rule of law, but I did not know we had reached a point where we had totally abandoned the law and had made forging tens of thousands of documents legal.

[ClarkUSA]

149. President Obama never said that. Give us the exact full quote along with a link to the news source.

[GOTV]

160. What was this person's role in the economic collapse? Less than certain members of the Obama admin?

I'm still waiting for anyone responsible for the collapse to be held accountable.

[treestar]

2. Thanks for finding that

Most of the hot air here is not even supported by anything in particular.

[great white snark]

7. You, sir, are on a roll. Thank you.

K&R

:fistbump:

[chill_wind]

12. Yes OF COURSE it all hot air and there are no grievances.

That's why there's an OWS movement all over the whole country.

:sarcasm:

Despite the Justice Department’s focus on insider trading, Mr. Rajaratnam’s case and the government’s broader crackdown have been something of a sideshow to the larger problems related to the global financial crisis and America’s continued economic woes.

For instance, insider trading at hedge funds — and the notion that the stock market is a rigged game — does not rate on the list of grievances from the anti-Wall Street protestors spreading across the country.

“Unless people can identify lost money as a result of insider trading, or have had their savings stolen by Madoff, they don’t view their own economic difficulties as being caused by a few bad apples,” said Mr. Berman, the Ohio State law professor. “They see the problems with our economy and financial markets as far more systemic than that.”

It is excellent that a bad apple hedge fund crook is finally going to jail. Now if only we could see a lot more justice for the grievances of the people represented at OWS.

[MineralMan]

3. Excellent! Another Wall St. Crook Goes to Prison!

Thanks, Mr. President.

We should all send him congratulations.

[Arctic Dave]

4. "The 11-year sentence was significantly lower than the range of roughly 19 to 24 years requested"

Yep, you can definately tell Obama was involved. LOL

[Whisp]

5. ...

you just don't want to know what I am thinking about you dragging your spiteful slime here.





really you don't

[Arctic Dave]

19. Trust me, what ever you can dish out, I can take.

I waiting for your best shot.

[ClarkUSA]

6. I can definitely tell you didn't bother to read the article.

At 11 years, the sentence lacks the symbolic heft of the range of 19 to 24 years that the government had sought under federal sentencing guidelines. At Thursday’s hearing, Reed Brodsky, a federal prosecutor, said Mr. Rajaratnam deserved an outsize penalty because his crimes were “brazen, pervasive and egregious” and “there is no one who is Mr. Rajaratnam’s equal in terms of the breadth and scope of his insider-trading crimes.”

In imposing his sentence, Judge Holwell cited a number of mitigating factors that he said caused him to hand down a term that was substantially lower than the nonbinding federal guidelines. He said Mr. Rajaratnam’s “good works figure into the equation,” citing his financial help for victims of the tsunami in Sri Lanka, the earthquakes in Pakistan and the Sept. 11 attacks.

Judge Holwell also disclosed that Mr. Rajaratnam had advanced diabetes that was leading to kidney failure, and said that prison “is a more intense experience for people with serious health conditions.”

“Some form of forbearance, however constrained by circumstance, is fundamental to our system of justice and appropriate here,” the judge said.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/rajaratnam-is-sentenced-to-11-years/?hp

Nevertheless, it was a record sentence for this sort of Wall Street crime. But that doesn't matter to you, eh? All that matters is getting in a gratuitous dig at President Obama.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nichomachus]

8. Your conclusion is unwarranted

This does not mean Mr. Obama is not a Wall St. shill. Wall St. doesn't like insider trading just as casinos don't like card cheats. It upsets the game for the other crooks.

When the bankers who sold toxic securities and ruined the economy take a perp walk, then I'll applaud. Prosecuting this guy was just serving the ends of Wall Street.

[ClarkUSA]

9. LOL! Unlike my OP headline, your empty rhetoric is unsupported by any facts.

[brentspeak]

22. NYTimes Editorial Board: Obama's foreclosure settlement deal with big banks would let them off hook

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/opinion/its-a-flawed-settlement.html">It's a Flawed Settlement

[ClarkUSA]

23. Still cherrypicking negative op-eds?

[GOTV]

162. So that's the guy that wrecked the economy? I'm glad they got him!

[truebrit71]

11. Yup....just a drop in the bucket....a sacrificial lamb if you will...

...what about the other crooks...you know, the ones that emptied the treasury?? I really don't give a shit about insider information, that happens all the friggin' time...hell, our elected officials in D.C. do it LEGALLY...

I want the motherfuckers that tanked the economy behind bars...THEN i'll start applauding..

[chill_wind]

13. +1000

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[chill_wind]

28. And there's your problem right there...

"Well, there’s your problem right there …" (Washington's Blog)


Another one, anyway, among other ones.

Insider trading rules don't apply to Congress.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/06/well-theres-your-problem-right-there-insider-trading-rules-don%e2%80%99t-apply-to-congress.html

>hell, our elected officials in D.C. do it LEGALLY...<

How true!

[midnight]

47. So what is the story of that darn cute dog popping up into the

car/truck engine area? Looking for a treat?

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[stockholmer]

71. +1000

[ClarkUSA]

155. Wrong. Did you bother to read the entire OP?

[ProSense]

17. And

"Prosecuting this guy was just serving the ends of Wall Street."

...this guy: Former TBW CEO Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Fraud Scheme

The number of prosecutions will never be enough.

Former Chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison and Ordered to Forfeit $38.5 Million

Former Principal of Wextrust Capital Sentenced in New York to 262 Months in Prison for Real Estate Investment Fraud Scheme

Former Colonial Bank Senior Vice President Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Fraud Scheme

Former U.S. Mortgage President Sentenced in New Jersey to 14 Years in Prison for Orchestrating $136 Million Fraud Scheme

StopFraud.gov

[great white snark]

24. +1 "The number of prosecutions will never be enough."

Well said and very unfortunate.

[brentspeak]

25. How come you forgot THESE links?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/business/schneiderman-is-said-to-face-pressure-to-back-bank-deal.html?pagewanted=all">Attorney General of N.Y. Is Said to Face Pressure (from White House) on Bank Foreclosure Deal

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/220035/20110926/mortgage-settlement-mortgage-deal-mortgage-obama-foreclosures-obama-foreclosure-attorney-general-mor.htm">Obama's Mortgage Settlement Push Faces Resistance from Attorneys General

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/obama-goes-all-out-for-dirty-banker-deal-20110824">Obama Goes All Out For Dirty Banker Deal

http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/wapo_flags_obama_inaction_on_w.php">WaPo Flags Obama Inaction on Wall Street Crime

[chill_wind]

29. Hmmm.

[Raster]

134. Damn you! This was supposed to be a "told you so" thread. How dare you bring these items up?

Did you clear this with George Clooney?

[JDPriestly]

34. Regarding Taylor, Bean and Lee Farkas

he indictment alleges that TBW began to experience significant cash flow problems in early 2002 that interfered with its ability to cover its operating expenses. Initially they sought to cover millions in overdrafts by frequently transferring money between numerous accounts (a practice known as "kiting.") By December of 2003, the deficit as a result of the overdrafts had reached into the tens of millions of dollars. They then transferred the deficit to a mortgage loan purchase facility where Colonial Bank purchased interests in individual residential mortgage loans originated by TBW pending resale of the loans to third party investors. The loans were supposed to be sold off the line within 90 days. Farkas and his co-conspirators are alleged to have provided false mortgage loan data to Colonial Bank under the pretense that it was selling the bank an interest in mortgage loans. The data, however, included data on loans that TBW had already committed or sold to other third party investors or that did not exist. In essence, according to the indictment, Farkas and his co-conspirators sold tens of millions of dollars of fake assets to Colonial Bank. In order to avoid scrutiny, they "recycled" the loans - essentially by sending new data to Colonial Bank that made it appear that the loans had been sold to investors and that new loans had taken their place.

In mid-2005, according to the indictment, the deficit on the mortgage facility was moved to an Assignment of Trade facility that was designed for the purchase of interests in pools of loans that were in the process of being securitized or sold to third party investors. This was done, in part, because Colonial Bank didn't track loan level data in these accounts, making detection of the scheme less likely. These purchase transactions were referred to as "trades" and Colonial Bank would purchase the trades and provide the proceeds to TBW while TBW sought to finalize sale of the trades to investors. TBW could then use these proceeds to continue to fund new loans. Colonial Bank would get its money back when the trades were sold to investors. The trades that Colonial Bank was funding for TBW had no collateral backing them.

. . . .

http://mortgagefraudblog.com/perp-walk/item/13278-lee_farkas_indictment_unsealed

[GOTV]

165. Becasue the # of prosecutions is not relevant. It's who's prosecuted vs. who's protected.

But I think you know that.

[CakeGrrl]

10. Rec'd. Truth. -nt

[slay]

14. Ah ok so one out of thousands huh? Color me unimpressed.

this is just so they can say - see - we procecuted wall street criminals - when 99% of them got away with everything they did. gettin kinda hard to cherry pick your so called "good Obama news" these days huh ClarkUSA. :eyes:

[ClarkUSA]

18. Color me unsurprised by your inability to acknowledge ALL the facts detailed in the OP.

[sulphurdunn]

146. A few fall guys. A few fines.

Just part of the cost of doing business.

[Name removed]

43. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ChandlerJr]

16. He got nailed for insider trading, even Martha Stewart got prison time

for that, but what of the real crooks?

Jake Tapper.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Just to follow up on Jackie’s question -- one of the reasons why so many of the people of the Occupy Wall Street protests are so angry is because, as you say, so many people on Wall Street did not follow the rules, but your administration hasn’t really been very aggressive in prosecuting. In fact, I don’t think any Wall Street executives have gone to jail despite the rampant corruption and malfeasance that did take place. So I was wondering if you’d comment on that.(snip)

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first on the issue of prosecutions on Wall Street, one of the biggest problems about the collapse of Lehmans and the subsequent financial crisis and the whole subprime lending fiasco is that a lot of that stuff wasn’t necessarily illegal, it was just immoral or inappropriate or reckless. That’s exactly why we needed to pass Dodd-Frank, to prohibit some of these practices.

The financial sector is very creative and they are always looking for ways to make money. That’s their job. And if there are loopholes and rules that can be bent and arbitrage to be had, they will take advantage of it. So without commenting on particular prosecutions -- obviously that’s not my job; that’s the Attorney General’s job -- I think part of people’s frustrations, part of my frustration, was a lot of practices that should not have been allowed weren’t necessarily against the law, but they had a huge destructive impact. And that’s why it was important for us to put in place financial rules that protect the American people from reckless decision-making and irresponsible behavior.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/06/news-conference-president


And maybe calling for a repeal of much of the deregulation that went on in the '90's regarding Glass-Stegall and commodities exchange regulations would be helpful.

[ClarkUSA]

21. What do you think Wall Street reform was about? Pres. Obama stands behind the Volcker Rule in it.

President Obama pushes the Volcker Rule:
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=president+obama+volcker+rule&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

The Volcker Rule is a specific piece of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act originally proposed by American economist and former United States Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to restrict United States banks from making certain kinds of speculative investments that do not benefit their customers.<1> Volcker has argued that such speculative activity played a key role in the financial crisis of 2007–2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcker_Rule

WASHINGTON - The outlines of the Volcker Rule, one of the flagship provisions of the sweeping financial regulatory overhaul passed last year, will begin to take shape this week as regulators propose rules to limit the ability of most banks and Wall Street firms to use their own funds to buy and sell stocks, corporate bonds and derivatives.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=852931&f=23

"Regulators Advance the Volcker Rule"

Federal regulators on Tuesday took a much-anticipated step toward reining in risky trading on Wall Street, introducing a proposal that would prohibit federally insured banks from making certain types of bets with their own money.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation unanimously approved an initial version of the so-called Volcker rule, a centerpiece of the sprawling regulatory overhaul known as Dodd-Frank.

The rule would both limit banks from investing in hedge funds and ban proprietary trading, a major profit center where banks trade for their own benefit rather than for clients. It is named for Paul A. Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman who championed the rule as a way to avert future bailouts of Wall Street, which nearly collapsed during the financial crisis.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/regulators-advance-volcker-rule

Helping to take back the House and create a filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate would be helpful to further President Obama's record of liberal Democratic policy success.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FedUp_Queer]

142. Cowardice.

[ClarkUSA]

168. Yes, we know you're never satisfied, even when Pres. Obama reverses Clinton's deregulating shame.

Easy to throw stones from behind a keyboard, eh?

[Name removed]

175. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BreweryYardRat]

26. Good. Although that fine's way too low.

$10 million and a $53.8 million forfeit (is that assessed against the business, instead of personal assets?) is a drop in the bucket to a guy with a net worth that's at least $1.5 billion in personal assets. Now, if he received a $1.25 billion fine, the rest of the Wall Street assholes might sit up and take notice.

[Jakes Progress]

27. Nice that he's going away. Even if it is just for show.

So a hedge fund guy got it. How about a few bankers and wall street traders - you know, the ones who crashed our economy, the ones we are supposed to be reforming. A suit settled for 550 million? About one percent of their take. That is a cheap cost for doing business. They pay more for bonuses and catering.

Nice though that at least one area is trying. Any word on trying the war ciminals?

[JDPriestly]

30. Not all that difficult to convict an outsider, an apparent immigrant.

Now let's see them go after the folks who cheated and who belong to the American establishment.

[BulletproofLandshark]

35. That's why they went after him.

He was the easiest sacrificial lamb to cull from the flock. Nab a few hundred more and I may begin to be impressed.

[FedUp_Queer]

187. They can't do that.

I would so embarrass Obama having his Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner frog-marched out of the Treasury Building. And how awful it would look having his advisers Larry Summer and Robert Rubin in hand cuffs. Oh...and we can't forget Mr. "My Company Paid No Taxes" Immelt. Tsk tsk tsk. What do you think this president actually BELIEVES in the rule of law? How...quaint.

[bhikkhu]

31. "In 2009, the agency launched nearly 500 investigations, double the 2008 level"

From the article:

"In April 2010, the SEC dramatically stepped up its game by suing Goldman Sachs for fraud during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, targeting the marketing of toxic and complex financial products whose value was derived from faulty home loans... Just three months later in July 2010, Goldman paid a record $550 million fine to settle the suit, the largest ever assessed by the SEC against a financial company... Khuzami has aggressively stepped up the SEC's enforcement role. In 2009, the agency launched nearly 500 investigations, double the 2008 level, and ordered companies to pay 35 percent more in fines and repay 170 percent more in illicit funds."

...thanks for finding that. I'd done a half-hearted serach the other day but didn't get to any hard numbers, after reading another "Obama hasn't lifted a finger to investigate his corporate masters"-type post...

[sabrina 1]

33. Who prosecuted this crime? Seems it was a Manhattan DA.

We know that the NY US Attorney right now is being pressured by this WH to stop prosecutions of Wall St. Criminals who caused the financial meltdown.

Unrec'd for deceptive claims and not including the most current information which is egregious frankly, that demonstrates this administration is attempting to make a deal with all 50 US Attorneys to stop prosecutions of Wall St. Criminals.

[BulletproofLandshark]

36. THAT DOESN'T SUPPORT MY PREDETERMINED NARRATIVE!

Just thought I'd save a couple posters in this thread some time.

[sabrina 1]

48. I'm sorry if it doesn't support your predetermined narrative.

But it is a fact. This administration IS pressuring all 50 US attorneys to stop the prosecution of Wall Street criminals. I can provide links if you this is news to you, but I was under the impression it was pretty common knowledge by now, and part of the reason for people taking to the streets since so far, there has been zero accountability for these massive crimes that practically destroyed this country.

[BulletproofLandshark]

133. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I was making a bad joke at the expense of some of the posters in this thread. The two who think nabbing one guy cancels out all the others that are walking free. The two who think browbeating and disrespecting the opinions of others who question Dear Leader is effective debate. Why I ever took those clowns off of ignore, I'll never understand. For the record, I agree with you 100%.

[emilyg]

38. +1

[russspeakeasy]

39. +2

[ProSense]

40. Hmmm?

"Unrec'd for deceptive claims and not including the most current information which is egregious frankly, that demonstrates this administration is attempting to make a deal with all 50 US Attorneys to stop prosecutions of Wall St. Criminals. "

Damn, a prosecution can't even be acknowledged without trying to snatch credit from the President.

Hedge Fund Founder Raj Rajaratnam Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 11 Years in Prison for Insider Trading Crimes

New York – Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 11 years in prison stemming from his involvement in the largest hedge fund insider trading scheme in history, announced U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. Rajaratnam was the managing member of Galleon Management LLC, the general partner of Galleon Management L.P. and a portfolio manager for Galleon Technology Offshore Ltd. and certain accounts of Galleon Diversified Fund Ltd. He was convicted on May 11, 2011, of all 14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud with which he was charged, following an eight-week jury trial. Rajaratnam was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell. It is the longest sentence imposed for insider trading in history.


<...>

U.S. Attorney Bharara praised the investigative work of the FBI and thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its extraordinary assistance.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which U.S. Attorney Bharara serves as a co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Streeter and Reed Brodsky, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Michaelson are in charge of the prosecution.

[Number23]

62. Thanks to you and Clark for still trying to debunk the bullshit

Many of us have long since stopped caring.

[ClarkUSA]

41. "deceptive claims"? The irony of your red herring accusation is striking given the FACTS. -->

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which U.S. Attorney Bharara serves as a co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Streeter and Reed Brodsky, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Michaelson are in charge of the prosecution.

http://www.stopfraud.gov/news/news-10132011.html

[sabrina 1]

45. A massive crime was committed against this country by

Wall Street Criminals. It had a ripple effect across the globe, collapsing the economies of every country it touched. Europe at the moment is on the verge of economic disaster as a result of those crimes.

They are struggling to save the banks to prevent total disaster that will result, and has already, in human suffering on a massive scale. They are attempting to make the people pay for the corruption and debts created by these criminals which has resulted in world wide unrest that is escalating every day.

Not one single person responsible for these crimes has been prosecuted. There have been no criminal investigations into the crimes, and the President stated this week, unbelievably, that there was NO CRIMINAL activity involved, just 'immorality'! This OP has presented a case that if anything, had little to do with these crimes. To try to claim that this should satisfy the millions, at this point maybe billions of people around the world, who want to see accountability for what has been described as the biggest bank heist in history, IS deceptive.

Millions lost their jobs, more lost their pensions, their homes, their healthcare. Where are the prosecutions for the fraudulent and criminal activities in the Mortgage crisis? Why have the ratings agencies not even been investigated for the role they played in the fraud?

Trillions of dollars were involved. Where is that money? It's good that one criminal has been prosecuted. It's also good that in NY and in Florida and in Kentucky, class action lawsuits have revealed and exposed some of the fraud that led to the collapse and those findings may lead to criminal prosecutions. But the credit for those cases go the people who filed the law suits.

This administration, in an effort to prevent any more of these cases from going forward, is pressuring the US Attorneys of all 50 states to make a deal for approx. 8 billion dollars to end investigations and to prevent the people from finding out who was responsible for crimes that have harmed this country, and others, so much it may take decades to recover from. While millions of ordinary people never will.

So to try to pass this one case off as proof that this administration is doing something about the crimes of Wall St. that collapsed this country's economy, when in fact they are attempting to prevent investigations and offering a tiny fraction of the money that is unaccounted for, is deceptive.

Show me a case that is directly related to the Crash of 2008 being prosecuted by the DOJ and then I will be impressed. Explain if you can, what happened to the Senate Committee's recommendations of its findings to the DOJ for investigation and possible prosecution?

[ClarkUSA]

50. Your rhetoric is patently false. ProSense and I answered your question & my OP proves you wrong.

[sabrina 1]

68. Your OP proves that one person

was tried and convicted and fined and sentenced to jail. One person. This crime that crashed the world involved thousands of criminals. What did this person have to do with the massive crimes that were committed that brought this country and Europe, to its knees? What role did he play in the trillion dollar crimes that have yet to even be investigated?

Cases like this happen all the time, especially in NY. But you are claiming it is related to the collapse of the economy. Are you satisfied that this one case is enough to satisfy the anger of the people over the Wall Street collapse? Do you agree with this administration's attempt to satisfy crimes that run into the trillions with an 8 billion settlement? Do you really think this one case is going end the demands for a full investigation of those crimes?

Oh, and what about my comment is 'patently false'??

[ClarkUSA]

75. Wrong again.

[sabrina 1]

79. About what?

What am I wrong about? Was there not a crime of massive proportions committed by hundreds, according to some experts, thousands of people over the course of several years, involving trillions of dollar, that practically destroyed this country and many others across the globe? Are you saying I am wrong about that?

[ClarkUSA]

123. Enough with the strawmen. Your leading sentence is false. You were wrong here too. -->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=796287&mesg_id=796634

I notice you haven't replied to banned from kos yet.

Gee, I wonder why? :sarcasm:

[joshcryer]

130. You cannot expect honesty from that one.

[Safetykitten]

46. Hey you! Stop revealing the truth! We have propaganda to sell.

[ClassWarrior]

49. A net of $2.8 billion after the fine and an 11-year sentence he'll probably never have to serve?

Boy, he's really being held to account.

:eyes:

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

51. FACT: He "must report within 45 days to the Bureau of Prisons, which will assign him to a facility."

"Mr. Rajaratnam must report within 45 days to the Bureau of Prisons, which will assign him to a facility. The judge said he would recommend that Mr. Rajaratnam serve his time at the federal medical center in Butner, N.C., part of the same complex where Mr. Madoff is incarcerated."

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/rajaratnam-is-sentenced-to-11-years/?hp

There is no parole in federal crimes of this category.

[ClassWarrior]

53. I wonder what kind of "facility" it is. Bread and water? Toilet next to the wooden bed?

A central city drug dealer convicted of murder for a cellmate? What do you think?

:eyes:

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

54. Here's their website. -->

If you're curious, go and check out their PDF files: http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/buh/index.jsp

Of course, you could satisfy your curiosity firsthand. He has visiting hours. :)

[ClassWarrior]

55. I'm not doing your research for you. You're the one making an allegation. Defend it.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

56. You're making a false statement. I proved you wrong on your original claim so just accept it.

<< an 11-year sentence he'll probably never have to serve? >>

Wrong. He'll be serving the longest prison term in US history for this type of crime. Legally speaking, he's being held to account. Your predictably negative opinion is irrelevant.

[ClassWarrior]

57. You didn't prove anything. Has the criminal started serving his sentence yet?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

58. The New York Times did it for me. And reread Reply #51. Lather, rinse, repeat.

:)

[ClassWarrior]

59. So I have 45 days to be proven right.

And if I was a betting man, I'd place a $2.8 billion wager on me.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

60. Uh huh. Unlike me, you have zero facts on your side, of course.

[ClassWarrior]

61. You have the kind of facts that can see into the future??

No fair!!

:rofl:

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

63. I am quoting The New York Times re: what the judge ordered. Who are your legal sources?

[ClassWarrior]

66. Please show me the quote from NYT "legal sources" that says this guy will serve the full...

...11 years in a prison on the same par with the ones where OWS protesters who get arrested for sleeping in a park will be locked up.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

69. LOL! Moving the goalpost now? Do your own homework. I've answered you enough.

There is no parole for federal crimes of this sort. Go call up Mr. Preet Bharara and ask him.

[ClassWarrior]

74. I'm not moving anything. I say he never serves the full 11 years. Guys like this seldom do.

And if they do, it's in a country club prison.

Check back with me in 11 years and 45 days and we'll see who's right.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

77. There's no parole. But he is Christie-corpulent. If the perp dies, then you'd be right.

[GOTV]

166. There is time off for good behavior - per your post.

[ClarkUSA]

171. Quote?

[bornskeptic]

177. Nobody goes to prison for sleeping in the park.

Nobody serves an 11 year fedederal felony sentence in jail either.

[ClassWarrior]

64. By the way, you've conveniently avoided the FACT that this criminal netted a $2.8 billion profit.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

65. So what? Go cry to the judge or run for office and change sentencing guidelines in NY.

[ClassWarrior]

67. So what? Your OP screams that he's being "held accountable." But now it's...

..."go tell the judge??"

:rofl:

NGU.

[Safetykitten]

70. He does have that heavy burden to carry. "White Collar Criminal and Billionaire". That's harsh!

[ClarkUSA]

73. Being sentenced to a record eleven years in federal prison for this type of crime is historic.

Not that you would ever acknowledge this fact.

[ClassWarrior]

92. Wow, so now sentences for country club prisons are only tiny, not miniscule.

Praise the Lord!!

:eyes:

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

96. A record setting 11 yr, sentence is "tiny"? Sure. Prove that FMC Butner is a "country club prison"

[ClassWarrior]

101. Prove that it isn't one. And tell the folks serving longer for shoplifting to feed their families...

...that 11 years isn't tiny.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

103. You made the claim, I didn't, so prove it. Also name "the folks serving longer for shoplifting".

[ClassWarrior]

105. I repeat, Didn't you say that he'd be "assigned to a facility in 45 days?" So why do you somehow...

...know the name of the facility now?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

108. Name "the folks serving longer sentences for shoplifting" in federal prison.

[ClassWarrior]

110. I repeat, so you have zero proof of your bogus claims. How unsurprising

NNNGU.

[ClarkUSA]

114. My OP proves my claims.

[ClassWarrior]

117. It proves that letting a criminal keep $2.8 billion of the $2.9 billion he stole holds him...

...accountable?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

121. If you're not happy with the fine, that's not my problem. Complain to the judge.

[ClassWarrior]

124. This has nothing to do with my happiness. Show me where the article proves that letting a...

...criminal keep $2.8 billion of his loot "holds him accountable" for his crime, as you claim it does.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

126. Yes, it does. You keep complaining about it. It clearly bothers you. That's not my problem.

[ClassWarrior]

128. No, I keep complaining that it undermines the entire premise of your OP, that this common thief...

...is being "held accountable."

Are complex concepts really that difficult for you?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

129. You're entitled to your subjective opinion. Legally speaking, you are wrong.

Are simple concepts really that difficult for you?

[ClassWarrior]

131. I agree that it's my opinion that your opinion is laughable. Why do you keep trying avoid...

...that fact by trying to suggest that I have any opinion on the legality of all this?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

132. Yawn. Your empty rhetoric is a bore.

:nopity:

[GOTV]

167. If he got to keep that money then this is certainly not justice.

I'm not saying he did get to keep the money. I'm just saying anyone would gladly spend that time in jail for half that amount.

[FedUp_Queer]

144. Life Sentences for Shoplifting.

Like shootin' fish in a barrel.

http://www.americanbar.org/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/irr_hr_winter04_shoplifting.html

[ClarkUSA]

153. Apples and oranges. What does CA state law circa 2004 have to do with this federal case?

I asked for the names of "shoplifters serving longer sentences" in federal prison FMC Butner, where the perp in the OP will be heading.

Thanks for the info, though. CA voters circa 2004 have a lot to answer for.

[Name removed]

172. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ClarkUSA]

72. That's right. Your never ending complaints do not change the facts contained in my OP.

If you're dissatisfied with the fine, then take it up with the judge.

[ClassWarrior]

76. I didn't say it changed any facts. I said it gave the lie to your allegation that this criminal...

...is being "held accountable."

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

78. That's your subjective opinion. Legally speaking, you are wrong.

[ClassWarrior]

80. No, that's YOUR subjective opinion. I wasn't speaking about anything "legally." I was speaking...

...about your subjective opinion, which, according to its title, is the entire purpose for posting this thread in the first place.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

81. The fine is a legal fact, as reported by The New York Times article.

A record prison sentence and $10M fine is by any sane legal definition = being held to account.

[ClassWarrior]

83. Tricky. Change your post after I've responded. Can't win on the "facts," so you resort to cheating?

No wonder you empathize with this criminal.

NGU.

[Name removed]

84. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ClassWarrior]

87. I give him copious credit when he deserves it. I think it disrespects him to...

...attempt to give it to him by deception when he doesn't deserve it.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

89. That's news to me. Here's proof of President Obama's role in bringing this case to fruition.-->

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which U.S. Attorney Bharara serves as a co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Streeter and Reed Brodsky, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Michaelson are in charge of the prosecution.

http://www.stopfraud.gov/news/news-10132011.html

[ClassWarrior]

90. Whether he was responsible for this failure of justice or not, he doesn't deserve kudos for it.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

93. A record prison term = "failure of justice"? lol! Your perspective is quite skewed.

Fortunately, your opinion is irrelevant.

[ClassWarrior]

95. A record prison term? I'm sure that'll console the folks serving longer sentences for shoplifting.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

97. Name "the folks serving longer sentences for shoplifting" in federal prison at FMC Butner.

[ClassWarrior]

99. Oh, they don't get the country club accommodations. But you keep avoiding the point.

11 years, paroled or not, in a country club prison and a $2.8 billion dollar profit is one helluva way to be "held accountable."

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

100. I repeat, name "the folks serving longer sentences for shoplifting" in federal prison at FMC Butner.

Or are you making yet another false claim?

[ClassWarrior]

104. I repeat, Didn't you say that he'd be "assigned to a facility in 45 days?" So why do you somehow...

...know the name of the facility now?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

109. You have zero proof of your bogus claims. How unsurprising.

[ClassWarrior]

111. You have zero proof of your bogus claims. How unsurprising.

NNNNNGU.

[ClarkUSA]

120. lol! Keep repeating after me... maybe you'll finally read Reply 51.

[ClassWarrior]

122. I did. See reply #119.

:eyes:

NGU.

[Name removed]

127. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ClassWarrior]

85. I'm not talking about "the fine." I'm talking about how patently laughable it is to claim that...

...this criminal is being "held accountable."

I didn't realize that you'd be so confused by the subtlety of my sarcasm.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

86. Again, that's your subjective opinion. Legally speaking, you are wrong.

He has been held accountable by the rule of law, as The New York Times has clearly detailed.

[ClassWarrior]

88. I'm not legally speaking. And yes, it's my opinion that your opinion is laughable.

As you said upthread, live with it.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

91. The feeling is mutual. Yet unlike you, I have facts to back me up.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, on which U.S. Attorney Bharara serves as a co-chair of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Working Group. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Streeter and Reed Brodsky, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Michaelson are in charge of the prosecution.

http://www.stopfraud.gov/news/news-10132011.html

[ClassWarrior]

94. Okay, show me the facts that say that a $2.8 billion profit holds a criminal "accountable"...

...for his crime.

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

98. You're constructing a strawman argument. Is that all you've got?

Prove your claims that FMC Butner is a "country club prison" and name "the folks serving longer sentences for shoplifting" in federal prison at FMC Butner.

You made these unproven claims here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=796287&mesg_id=796789

And here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=796287&mesg_id=796792

Or were you making false claims?

[ClassWarrior]

102. Didn't you say that he'd be "assigned to a facility in 45 days?" So why do you somehow know...

...the name of the facility now?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

106. Where is proof of your claim that the facility is a "country club prison"?

[ClassWarrior]

107. So you have zero proof for your bogus claims. How unsurprising.

NNNGU.

[ClassWarrior]

112. You're right. I should have phrased that differently. I should have said...

..."Okay, show me the facts that say that letting a criminal keep $2.8 billion of the $2.9 billion he stole holds him 'accountable' for his crime."

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

113. Name "the folks serving longer sentences for shoplifting" in federal prison at FMC Butner.

[ClassWarrior]

115. I thought your "facts" said he'd be assigned a facility in 45 days. So what the hell is "FMC Butner?

NGU.

[ClarkUSA]

116. For the second time: Reread Reply #51. You keep ignoring the facts in favor of empty rhetoric.

[ClassWarrior]

119. I did. It says, "FACT: He "must report within 45 days to the Bureau of Prisons, which will..."

"...assign him to a facility."

:shrug:

NGU.

[Name removed]

125. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ClarkUSA]

137. That's one sentence. Try reading the REST of the paragraph I have repeatedly quoted.

Reading is fundamental.

[girl_interrupted]

118. This was for insider trading, not going after Bank CEO's responsible for the financial crisis

They are still held unaccountable for their actions and the economic mess it left this country in.

Going after inside traders is not a new thing. They are small potatoes in comparison.
Spitzer went after them, even Guilliani went after them.
But this it in no way compares to the damage brought on us by Corporations & Banks. They have gone scott free.
So you get a few crumbs with a millionaire character like this, and he pays a paltry fine
and gets 11 years in a "medical" facility.

Read your own link:

"Despite the Justice Department’s focus,
insider trading has been something of a sideshow to the larger problems related to the global financial crisis.
Insider trading at hedge funds — and the notion that the stock market is a rigged game — does not rate on the list of
grievances from the anti-Wall Street protests spreading across the country."


You ask can Obama do more? Damn straight, he can. And he can start by changing his attitude about the following:
Get off Attorney Generals backs who really want to go after these banks, let them do their job.
Forget about making a "settlement" with these vultures involved in unscrupulous lending and foreclosure processing that would
free themselves from any more liability with a one-time payment . Prosecute them...the State Attorneys want to and so should Obama.
Sometimes it's like Obama has bank-a-phobia. They have caused so much misery for so many people, and yet he's afraid to touch them.
The Public is fed up with their money being used to finance bail-outs for the " to big to fail" banks that throw them out of their own homes.
There is so much Obama could do and should do to show he truly sincere in helping the middle class.

I think a few suggestions in this article, would be some of the issues Obama should tackle
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/my-advice-to-the-occupy-wall-street-protesters-20111012

[ClarkUSA]

139. Did you read the entire OP?

In April 2010, the SEC dramatically stepped up its game by suing Goldman Sachs for fraud during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, targeting the marketing of toxic and complex financial products whose value was derived from faulty home loans... Just three months later in July 2010, Goldman paid a record $550 million fine to settle the suit, the largest ever assessed by the SEC against a financial company... Khuzami has aggressively stepped up the SEC's enforcement role. In 2009, the agency launched nearly 500 investigations, double the 2008 level, and ordered companies to pay 35 percent more in fines and repay 170 percent more in illicit funds.

http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Robert_Khuzami

[polichick]

135. So when are they going after the Goldman Sachs guy who funneled info to Raj?

[ClarkUSA]

138. Take the last paragraph to heart.

[polichick]

140. When it's Goldman Sachs, the answer is more than likely NEVER...

Sort of like they'll never go after Cheney, even though he brags about war crimes in his latest book - in writing.

[ClarkUSA]

141. Wrong. The SEC has successfully sued Goldman Sachs for fraud during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

In April 2010, the SEC dramatically stepped up its game by suing Goldman Sachs for fraud during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, targeting the marketing of toxic and complex financial products whose value was derived from faulty home loans... Just three months later in July 2010, Goldman paid a record $550 million fine to settle the suit, the largest ever assessed by the SEC against a financial company... Khuzami has aggressively stepped up the SEC's enforcement role. In 2009, the agency launched nearly 500 investigations, double the 2008 level, and ordered companies to pay 35 percent more in fines and repay 170 percent more in illicit funds.

http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Robert_Khuzami

[polichick]

143. A fine is not a Goldman exec going to prison...

In fact the WH has been fighting state attorneys who don't want to stop at fines.

[ClarkUSA]

145. To be exact, it was a record $550,000,000 fine. As a taxpayer, I'm satisfied with that.

You'll have to ask Mr. Bharara about "not a Goldman exec going to prison". There probably wasn't good enough actionable evidence that pointed to one person that would stand up in court. It's easy to want folks to go to jail, but there has to be incontrovertible evidence of specific intent of wrongdoing. In the case outlined in the OP, the SEC wiretapped the perp's phone for the better part of a year. Clearly, BushCo did not do that with Goldman-Sachs leading up to the 2008 collapse.

<< In fact the WH has been fighting state attorneys who don't want to stop at fines.>>

Apples and oranges. If you're referring to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and a mortgage settlement, there was a good populist reason for the WH stand:

“Eric and I agree on a tremendous amount here,” he said in an interview. “The disagreement is around whether we should wait to settle and resolve the issues around the servicing practices for him — and potentially other AGs and other federal agencies — to complete investigations on the securitization side. He might argue that he has more leverage that way, but our view is we have the immediate opportunity to help a huge number of borrowers to stay in their homes, to help their neighborhoods and the housing market.”

.... An early proposal of a settlement indicated that banks would have to pay about $20 billion to settle the matter, and those funds would in turn go to help homeowners modify their mortgages and stay in their homes.

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/1091-housing/177741-new-york-ag-under-white-house-pressure-on-mortgage-settlement

Getting money to distressed homeowners earlier sounds like the good call here.

[polichick]

147. Sounds like an excuse not to go after their good buddies.

[ClarkUSA]

148. Prove it. Your conspiracy theory is unfounded.

[polichick]

151. That lame line you use doesn't impress me - and neither does the WH rhetoric.

[ClarkUSA]

152. Lame conspiracy theories don't impress me - and neither does your negative rhetoric.

[polichick]

154. Refusing to prosecute high-level criminals is not a conspiracy theory, it's a policy for this WH...

The dictionary is your friend.

[ClarkUSA]

156. My OP content proves you wrong. Baseless conspiracy theory rhetoric doesn't impress me.

Your constantly negative false narratives about this administration are all devoid of factual basis.

[polichick]

161. We already went through the difference between fines and prison...

Sorry you don't get it.

Fortunately the people participating in OWS do get it.

[ClarkUSA]

164. We already went though the difference between the OP facts and your baseless conspiracy theories.

Sorry you don't get it.

Fortunately the people in OWS would be the first to cheer this perp going to jail and getting a record breaking sentence for his crime.

[Name removed]

136. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[GOTV]

157. This is for insider trading - which is not behavior that brought down the Economy

It was one rich guy robbing other rich guys.

Edited to fix wrong word

[ClarkUSA]

159. Which "the government" got "brought down"?

[GOTV]

163. Ooops. Meant "Economy"

[golfguru]

158. Great job, and there are many more crooks who need the same

treatment on Wall Street.

[swilton]

169. The scape-goating of one brown person

does not distance Obama from the corporations whom he serves.

[ClarkUSA]

170. Your racially-tinged comment is patronizingly offensive.Your conspiracy theory is unfounded as well.

[swilton]

180. It is patronizingly offensive to

scapegoat a person of color = even if it's to give him a slap on the wrist of 11 years (which will probably be appealed anyway) when there are so many white males sitting behind their desks who have wrecked more lives than this token.

[ClarkUSA]

181. Not interested in your racial BS conspiracy theory. He did the crime & will soon serve record time.

[FedUp_Queer]

173. Not a bad article but not a big deal.

Second to last paragraph:


Despite the Justice Department’s focus, insider trading has been something of a sideshow to the larger problems related to the global financial crisis. Insider trading at hedge funds — and the notion that the stock market is a rigged game — does not rate on the list of grievances from the anti-Wall Street protests spreading across the country.

[Scuba]

176. Steal $2.9 Billion, pay a $10 Million dollar fine....

....and keep the rest for only 11 years in the clink?


Where do I sign up?

[ClarkUSA]

178. Go for it.

[Moosepoop]

183. Rajaratnam stole $72 million.

Lee B. Farkas stole $2.9 billion in an unrelated case. He got 30 years.

[davidwparker]

179. Kudos to the O Admin.

Credit where credit is due.

[Vinca]

182. Well, that's one.

[Skittles]

184. LOLOL

OMG Vinca they are getting DESPERATE

[woo me with science]

185. Oh my lord, now we have reached Alice in Wonderland levels of absurdity.

So a token prosecution for insider trading makes up for his assertive attempts in all 50 states to avert prosecution of those responsible for the crash?

Good god, man. This argument is beyond silly; it is desperate and sad.

[polichick]

186. The op shows how the need to believe trumps all reason.

[TomCADem]

188. K & R!

[marlakay]

189. Ten million to a billionaire is nothing

And I bet he goes to a prison with golf and a gym...and gets out in 4 years or less quietly...

[Bake]

190. Jesus H. Christ ... do you think this idiot was anywhere NEAR the top?

He just saw a way to enrich himself. The real crooks are the fuckers at the tp of Goldman Sachs, et al.

This guy, while needing to go to jail, is just the tip of the iceberg. And you want Obama to get a medal for it?

BULLSHIT!

Bake