HispanicBusiness

A federal judge in New York gave former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta a two-year prison sentence for his role in an insider trading case.

Gupta, who was formerly on the board of Procter & Gamble as well, was convicted of passing confidential corporate information to former hedge fund manager and founder of Galleon Group Raj Rajaratnam, a billionaire who is serving an 11-year sentence for insider trading.

The New York Times reported Wednesday Gupta could have received a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, but Judge Jed Rakoff chose to be relatively lenient.

Gupta, who was also ordered to pay a $5 million fine, has had what many would call an illustrious career on Wall Street. He was born in India and attended Harvard Business School.

He worked at consulting firm McKinsey and Co. and managed the firm for 10 years. As a company consultant and independently he has advised private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Peter Dolan, the former chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb, as well as Bill Clinton and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

His attorneys had asked for an extended probation that would include community work, but Rakoff rejected that idea.

"His conduct has forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.