Mathew Martoma

Mathew Martoma (born May 18, 1974, as Ajai Mathew Mariamdani Thomas)[2] is an American former hedge fund trader. As a portfolio manager at S.A.C. Capital Advisors, he was accused of generating possibly the largest single insider trading transaction profit in history at a value of $276 million.[1] A jury convicted him, and in November 2014 he began serving a nine-year prison sentence. He was incarcerated at FCI Miami as inmate 01138-104, and released early on 19 July 2021.

Mathew Martoma
Born
Ajai Mathew Thomas[1]

(1974-05-18) May 18, 1974
Michigan, U.S.
NationalityAmerican[2]
Other namesMathew Cochukattil Martoma[2]
Alma materStanford Graduate School of Business (M.B.A., 2003, revoked 2014), Harvard Law School (Expelled, 1999) Duke University (B.S., Biomedics, Ethics, and Public Policy, 1995) [2]
OccupationPortfolio manager
Known forInsider trading conviction
Imprisoned atFCI Miami (2014-2021)

Early life

Martoma was born in Michigan and grew up in Merritt Island, Florida. His mother, Lizzie, is a doctor and his father, Bobby (formerly Cochukattil Thomas),[3][4] owns a dry cleaning and laundry company. Both are immigrants from India.[2]

He graduated from Merritt Island High School in 1992.[5] He graduated from Duke University and then attended Harvard Law School but was expelled in 1999[6] for grade manipulation and dishonesty.[2] He had used computer software to create a fake transcript with better grades which he then sent to federal judges in an attempt to secure a clerkship.[7] After leaving Harvard, he legally changed his name from Ajai Mathew Thomas to Mathew Cochukattil Martoma in 2001.[3][6]

He then applied and was accepted to Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received an MBA in 2003.[6] After Martoma's trial, where it was revealed that he had been expelled from Harvard but did not disclose that to Stanford, Stanford took back his degree for being admitted under false pretenses.[8][9]

Martoma worked as a portfolio manager at S.A.C. Capital Advisors.[10] He was hired in 2006 after working for three years at Sirios Capital Management. Martoma owned a $2 million mansion in Boca Raton.[11][12] This residence was forfeited as part of Martoma's sentencing.[13]

Trial

According to the criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Martoma allegedly advised Steven A. Cohen to sell shares of pharmaceutical companies Wyeth and Elan Corporation based on tips from two doctors, including Sid Gilman of the University of Michigan,[14] about the Alzheimer's disease drug bapineuzumab during clinical trials overseen by the FDA.[15] Martoma was introduced to Cohen by GLG Group, a so-called expert network company.[16] Martoma pleaded not guilty to formal charges of securities fraud, two counts, and conspiracy which resulted in $276 million in profits for SAC Capital in 2008.[17] The insider trading trial began on January 9, 2014 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A jury of seven women and five men were selected to evaluate the evidence in a courtroom presided by U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe.[2]

On February 6, 2014, Martoma was found guilty on all charges.[18] On September 8, 2014, Martoma was sentenced to 9 years in prison. In addition, Martoma must forfeit his $9.38 million bonus which he earned in 2008.[10][19]

In August 2017, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the conviction.[20] In June 2018, the again divided panel issued an amended opinion reaching the same result.[21] On June 3, 2019, the Supreme Court declined to hear Martoma's case, leaving his sentence in place.[22] He was released early July, 19, 2021.

Personal life

Martoma is married to Dr. Rosemary A. Martoma (née Kurian), a pediatrician; the couple have three children.[3]

See also
  • Chip Skowron, hedge fund portfolio manager convicted of insider trading

References
  1. "Indian-origin fund manager indicted in insider trading - Rediff.com Business". Rediff.com. 2012-12-26. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
  2. Van Voris, Bob; Kishan, Saijel (January 10, 2014). "SAC's Martoma Harvard-Expulsion Revealed as Trial Starts". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
  3. Van, Bob (2014-01-10). "SAC's Martoma Harvard-Expulsion Revealed as Trial Starts". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  4. "Bobby Martoma in Rockledge, FL". Intelius.com. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  5. "Feds: Merritt Island High grad an inside trader | News - Home". Clickorlando.com. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  6. Goldstein, Matthew (January 14, 2014). "Ex-SAC Capital Trader Found His Way to Stanford After Harvard Expulsion". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  7. "SAC's Martoma tried to cover up fraud at Harvard, documents show | Reuters". Reuters. 9 January 2014.
  8. Goldstein, Matthew (March 5, 2014). "Convicted SAC Trader Loses His Business School Degree". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  9. Korn, Melissa (1953-03-07). "Stanford B-School Strips Diploma of SAC Capital's Martoma - MoneyBeat - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  10. Matthew Goldstein (September 8, 2014). "Martoma, SAC Capital Ex-Trader, Gets 9 Years in Prison". The New York Times.
  11. Julia La Roche (December 7, 2012). "Check Out The Florida Mansion Of Accused Insider Trader Matthew Martoma". Business Insider.
  12. Katherine Burton; Saijel Kishan; Bob Van Voris (November 23, 2012). "Everything You Need To Know About Accused Insider Trader Mathew Martoma". Business Insider.
  13. Kolhatkar, Sheelah (2017). Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street (First ed.). New York. ISBN 9780812995800. OCLC 966071597.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. Betzold, Michael (January 26, 2013). "The Corruption of Sid Gilman-How a top U-M doc lost his way". Ann Arbor Observer.
  15. Van Voris, Bob (November 12, 2012). "Ex-SAC Manager Martoma Charged in Record Insider Scheme". Bloomberg News.
  16. "Martoma Found Guilty For Historic Insider Trading Scheme". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  17. "Martoma Pleads Not Guilty To Revised Indictment". Finalternatives.com. August 23, 2013.
  18. Stevenson, Alexandra; Goldstein, Matthew (February 7, 2014). "Ex-SAC Trader Convicted of Securities Fraud". The New York Times. p. A1.
  19. Goldstein, Matthew (September 8, 2014). "Martoma Sentenced to 9 Years for Insider Trading at SAC". The New York Times.
  20. Note, Recent Case: Second Circuit Redefines Personal Benefit Requirement for Insider Trading, 132 Harv. L. Rev. 1730 (2019).
  21. United States v. Martoma, 894 F.3d 64 (2nd Cir. 2018).
  22. "Supreme Court declines chance to review insider trading prosecutions". TheHill.com. June 3, 2019.


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