Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to make Raj Rajaratnam, who was convicted in May of insider trading, provide additional information on his medical issues.
Prosecutors had requested that the Galleon Group co-founder be sentenced to 19 1/2 to 24 1/2 years in prison—a term Rajaratnam said was “grotesquely severe,” but not uncommon these days, as more corporate criminals are seeing tougher sentences.
Earlier this month, Rajaratnam asked a judge to reduce the sentence so he doesn’t die in prison. The 54-year-old has experienced various health problems, including surgery on his foot that kept him out of court during part of his trial. But Rajaratnam was somewhat secretive even about that surgery. And now prosecutors want answers on the convicted inside trader’s general health, including his long-term prognosis as well as the ability of the prison system to provide him adequate health care.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for Rajaratnam’s law firm said lawyers will respond in a few days.
