Insider trading case witness gets probation

A former financial consultant-turned-government witness was spared prison time Thursday and given only two years of probation after prosecutors credited him with helping convict a pair of Wall Street titans on insider trading charges.

Anil Kumar had pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and other charges and agreed to cooperate in the investigation of two old friends -- disgraced hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam and former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta. Both were convicted at separate trials in federal court in Manhattan on charges accusing Gupta of feeding Goldman secrets to Rajaratnam.

Before hearing his sentence in federal court in Manhattan, the former McKinsey & Co. director told the judge that he was "completely and totally shamed" by his conduct.

Judge Denny Chin said he was swayed by prosecutors' effusive praise of Kumar, 53, as a key witness in what they have billed as the biggest hedge fund insider trading probe in history. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reed Brodksy called his cooperation "extraordinary" in part because he was forced to betray Gupta, someone he viewed as a mentor.

At a closely watched trial last year, Kumar testified that Rajaratnam -- his former business school classmate and billionaire founder of the Galleon hedge fund firm -- broke the law by speaking regularly about the negotiations over the acquisition of ATI Technologies Inc. by Kumar's client, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., before the deal was announced.

Rajaratnam, from Sri Lanka, is serving an 11-year prison term, while Gupta, a native of Westport, Conn., is awaiting sentencing.

Kumar was also ordered to forfeit $2.26 million.