| Insider
Trader in Lumentum Bhardwaj Got 24 Months
Now Is Denied Delay in Paying Fine
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 18 – Three indicted
insider traders were present
in court on August 17, 2022;
two cooperators in the case
were not. Talk turned to their
interviews with the FBI, and
so-called "Brutonization"
or perhaps even severance.
On August
17, 2022 U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Judge Gregory H.
Woods held an in-person
proceeding with the three
California-based defendants.
Inner City Press went and
covered it.
The
case centers around suspicious
trading in Lumentum Holdings
Inc. in connection with two
separate potential
acquisitions by Lumentum,
Coherent, Inc. and
Neophotonics Corporation. The
defendants are AMIT BHARDWAJ,
SRINIVASA KAKKERA, ABBAS
SAEEDI. Two of them, it was
said, gave statements to the
FBI, copies of which they
still don't have. The Bruton
case was mentioned.
Two of the
three wanted five monts to
review discovery; the other
suggested 90 days. Judge Woods
went with the five months,
until January 18, 2023 at 3
pm.
Meanwhile
Abbas Saeedi was approved "to
take a day or two trip
to Universal Studios or
Disneyland," on Patreon here.
The
cooperators, mentioned at the
bottom for the SDNY's press
release, are Dhirenkumar Patel
and Ramesh Chitor.
At least (these?)
two cooperators were alluded
to on March 22, 2023, when
Bhardwaj pled guilty. Inner
City Press was there. The plea
deal is for 70 to 87 months,
reduced to 57 to 71 by the
November 1, 2023 amendments to
the Guidelines.
On November 24
Bhardwaj's counsel filed its
sentencing submission, asking
for a sentence "substantially
below the guidelines," citing
among others Brijesh Goel,
whose SDNY case Inner City
Press also reported on.
On December 4,
the US wrote it to say it
wants a guideline sentence
between 57 and 71 months,
saying this would not create
unwarranted sentencing
disparities.
On December 8,
Bhardwaj got two years: 24
months in prison for his
participation in a scheme to
commit insider trading based
on material, non-public
information and he was
ordered to forfeit $547,286
and pay a fine of $975,000.
Back on July 19,
"ORDER as to Srinivasa
Kakkera: Defendant's motion
for a bill of particulars is
GRANTED IN PART.
But on August 14,
2023, severance was deemed
moot: The Government,
with agreement from counsel
for Mr. Kakkera, submits that
because the Government
anticipates that Mr. Saeedi
will enter a plea of guilty on
August 18, 2023, that motion
should be treated as moot.
ENDORSEMENT: Application
granted.
On September 5,
Inner City Press was in the
courtroom when Kakkera pled
guilty, to Count 7. His
sentencing is set for January
3, 2024 at 10 am.
And on September
7, "Change of Plea Hearing as
to Abbas Saeedi held on
9/7/2023. Sentencing is
scheduled for January 3, 2024,
at 1:00 p.m." So, sentencingS
on January 3...
On December 27,
the US for Kakkera asked for
more prison time that the 24
months Bhardwaj got...
On January 3,
2024, Kakkera was sentenced.
Inner City Press was there.
Judge Woods called the
defendant greedy, and
sentenced him to 18 months. He
asked that it be near his
residence in Pleasanton,
California and put off until
April 3 so that he can visit
with his mother in from India
until then. These were
granted.
On April 18,
2024, Bhardwaj through counsel
asked to delay paying $675,000
of his fine until after he
serves his time in prison.
Judge Woods the same day
denied the application, noting
that the defendant had not
identified any authority that
would permit the Court to
modify the payment obligations
established in the judgment."
The case is US v.
Bhardwaj, et al., 22-cr-398
(Woods)
***
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