Rajaratnam is the last man standing: Report

NEW YORK: Former hedge fund trader Danielle Chiesi has plead guilty to passing inside information with Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam that makes him the "last man standing" in the largest insider trading case in the US history.

Five of the six persons arrested in October 2009 in this case have now pleaded guilty and Rajaratnam (52) is set to go on trial on February 28, The New York Post reported.

Chiesi, who pleaded guilty this week to three counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, told Manhattan federal court judge Richard Holwell, "I am deeply ashamed by what I did ...I ruined a 20-year career in my field that I truly loved."

Rajaratnam faces multiple charges of conspiracy and security fraud and is accused of making illegal profits of almost $49 million. This is the first case to use authorized wiretaps.

Chiesi admitted to sharing confidential information with former boss and co-defendant Mark Kurland and obtaining similar data from IBM executive Robert Moffat, on several stocks, including those of the IT giant.

Other defendants, who were arrested in October 2009 and have pleaded guilty are: Kurland, Moffat, Intel executive Rajiv Goel and Anil Kumar, a former director at McKinsey & Co.

Chiesi faces up to 15 years in prison for her crimes but her she may get one to two years because of her plea deal.