Monday, December 5, 2011

Raj Rajaratnam checks into prison

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- White collar convict Raj Rajaratnam arrived at a federal prison in Massachusetts on Monday to begin serving the longest-ever sentence for insider trading.

Robert Lanza, spokesman for the Federal Medical Center Devens in, Mass., said that Rajaratnam arrived at 12:30 p.m.

It was widely expected that the former hedge fund head would serve at least part of his 11-year sentence at Devens, which specializes in the treatment of prisoners with kidney trouble.

Rajaratnam is a diabetic facing imminent kidney failure and will need a transplant, according to the federal judge who sentenced him.

Rajaratnam, the founder of the now-defunct Galleon Group, was also fined $92.8 million, the largest fine the Securities and Exchange Commission has ever imposed on an individual. In addition, he was separately fined $10 million and ordered to forfeit $53.8 million.

If Rajaratnam receives a new kidney in prison, the procedure and related treatment expenses during his 11 years could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The wealthy convict will not be allowed to pay for it himself.

Rajaratnam's lawyer, who did not respond to a message from CNNMoney, had managed to delay the start of his sentence by one week, but couldn't get it extended beyond that.

Medical costs for inmates in the federal prison system totaled $495 million in the most recent fiscal year, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Rajaratnam was found guilty in May of 14 counts of conspiracy and fraud, after a long-running insider trading scam.  

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