Stock photo.Reuters
A one-time portfolio manager at a New York hedge fund that shuttered last year amid an insider trading scandal has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Stefan Lumiere was found guilty earlier this year of inflating bond prices in Visium Asset Management’s credit fund and hiding those losses from investors.
The sentence, which was set Wednesday, June 14, includes a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release.
Lumiere’s sentencing had been scheduled for the end of May but was rescheduled after the judge found that the government had failed to provide sufficient information.
Lumiere is the ex-brother in law of Visium’s founder, Jake Gottlieb, a physician who founded the firm, which became known for investing in healthcare stocks.
The hedge fund attracted billions in assets, often from public pensions and endowments, even as Wall Street players distanced themselves, Business Insider previously reported. Billionaire hedge funder Steve Cohen, for instance, stopped hiring from Visium before the government’s indictment became public.
At its peak, Visium managed $8 billion, and its shuttering marked one of the most notable insider trading cases in recent years.
Sanjay Valvani, a star fund manager overseeing the firm’s flagship healthcare fund, committed suicide last year days after he was accused of insider trading. Valvani had maintained his innocence. Gottlieb hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing.
Lumiere’s boss, Chris Plaford, pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government investigation.
A spokesperson for Visium didn’t respond to a request comment.
Jonathan N. Halpern and Jonathan H. Friedman, who are lawyers for Lumiere at law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, said in a statement:
“We are pleased that our arguments resonated with the court, which imposed a sentence of 18 months rather than applying the range of 11 to 14 years under the Sentencing Guidelines that the government presented. Mr. Lumiere looks forward to pressing his claims on appeal.”