A former trader at the defunct hedge fund Premium Point Investments was ordered to spend almost 3 1/2 years in prison for conspiring with the firm’s co-founder to overvalue its assets in order to attract new investors and keep clients from leaving, Bloomberg News reported. A federal judge handed down the 40-month sentence against Jeremy Shor, who was convicted by a jury in July of fraudulently “mismarking” the value of fund holdings. Prosecutors said that Premium Point co-founder Anilesh “Neil” Ahuja, who was also found guilty in July and faces sentencing next week, and portfolio manager Amin Majidi set inflated monthly targets for returns then ordered Shor and other traders to manipulate the valuations accordingly. Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Shor to “a substantial period” behind bars, saying he played an “instrumental role” in inflating the fund’s assets. Court probation officials had recommended a term of three years. Addressing U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla before his sentencing in Manhattan federal court yesterday, Shor said that he should have raised questions about the valuations of the firm’s assets.
