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| caption            = Official portrait, 2009
| caption            = Official portrait, 2009
| office              = [[United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York]]
| office              = [[United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York]]
| president          = [[Barack Obama]]<br>[[Donald Trump]]
| president          = [[Barack Obama]]<br>[[Donald Trump]]
| term_start          = August 13, 2009
| term_start          = August 13, 2009
| term_end            = March 11, 2017
| term_end            = March 11, 2017
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| birth_place        = [[Firozpur]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], India
| birth_place        = [[Firozpur]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], India
| party              = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| party              = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| education          = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])&lt;br&gt;[[Columbia University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| education          = [[Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Columbia University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| spouse              = Dalya Bharara
| spouse              = Dalya Bharara
| children            = 3
| children            = 3
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== Early life, education, and early career ==
== Early life, education, and early career ==
Bharara was born in 1968 in [[Firozpur]], [[Punjab, India]] to a [[Sikh]] father and a [[Hindu]] mother.&lt;ref name=nytimes_20090810&gt;{{cite news | last=Weiser | first=Benjamin | title=For Manhattan's Next U.S. Attorney, Politics and Prosecution Don't Mix | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 9, 2009 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/nyregion/10bharara.html | access-date=April 21, 2011}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|date=2017-03-13|title=Fired US Attorney Preet Bharara: Everything you need to know|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/world/fired-us-attorney-general-preet-bharara-everything-you-need-to-know-4566252/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}&lt;/ref&gt; He and his parents immigrated to the United States in 1970. Bharara became a U.S. citizen at age 12. He grew up in [[Eatontown, New Jersey|Eatontown]] in suburban [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]]&lt;ref&gt;Lattman, Peter. [https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/the-bhararas-join-an-elite-band-of-brothers/ "The Fabulous Bharara Boys"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 9, 2011. Accessed August 9, 2012. "He told the audience that he and his brother who grew up in Eatontown, N.J., carved similar paths. Preet, 46, graduated from Harvard College, and Vinnie, 39, from the University of Pennsylvania."&lt;/ref&gt; and attended [[Ranney School]] in [[Tinton Falls, New Jersey]], where he graduated as [[valedictorian]] in 1986.&lt;ref name=reuters_20091020&gt;{{cite news|title=Preet Bharara, the new top federal prosecutor zeroes in on white-collar crime |work=India Times/Reuters |date=October 20, 2009 |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/Preet-Bharara-the-new-top-federal-prosecutor-zeroes-in-on-white-collar-crime/articleshow/5141088.cms |access-date=April 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527024358/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/Preet-Bharara-the-new-top-federal-prosecutor-zeroes-in-on-white-collar-crime/articleshow/5141088.cms |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name=wnyc_20110127&gt;{{cite web|last=Chang |first=Ailsa |author-link=Ailsa Chang |title=Meet Preet Bharara: New York's Highest-Profile Prosecutor |work=[[WNYC]] News |date=January 27, 2011 |url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/27/preet-bharara-hard-charging-humble-prosecutor/ |access-date=April 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418232614/http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/27/preet-bharara-hard-charging-humble-prosecutor/ |archive-date=April 18, 2011 }}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara was born in 1968 in [[Firozpur]], [[Punjab, India]] to a [[Sikh]] father and a [[Hindu]] mother.<ref name=nytimes_20090810>{{cite news | last=Weiser | first=Benjamin | title=For Manhattan's Next U.S. Attorney, Politics and Prosecution Don't Mix | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=August 9, 2009 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/nyregion/10bharara.html | access-date=April 21, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-03-13|title=Fired US Attorney Preet Bharara: Everything you need to know|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/world/fired-us-attorney-general-preet-bharara-everything-you-need-to-know-4566252/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=[[The Indian Express]]|language=en}}</ref> He and his parents immigrated to the United States in 1970. Bharara became a U.S. citizen at age 12. He grew up in [[Eatontown, New Jersey|Eatontown]] in suburban [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]]<ref>Lattman, Peter. [https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/the-bhararas-join-an-elite-band-of-brothers/ "The Fabulous Bharara Boys"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 9, 2011. Accessed August 9, 2012. "He told the audience that he and his brother who grew up in Eatontown, N.J., carved similar paths. Preet, 46, graduated from Harvard College, and Vinnie, 39, from the University of Pennsylvania."</ref> and attended [[Ranney School]] in [[Tinton Falls, New Jersey]], where he graduated as [[valedictorian]] in 1986.<ref name=reuters_20091020>{{cite news|title=Preet Bharara, the new top federal prosecutor zeroes in on white-collar crime |work=India Times/Reuters |date=October 20, 2009 |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/Preet-Bharara-the-new-top-federal-prosecutor-zeroes-in-on-white-collar-crime/articleshow/5141088.cms |access-date=April 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527024358/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/Preet-Bharara-the-new-top-federal-prosecutor-zeroes-in-on-white-collar-crime/articleshow/5141088.cms |archive-date=May 27, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=wnyc_20110127>{{cite web|last=Chang |first=Ailsa |author-link=Ailsa Chang |title=Meet Preet Bharara: New York's Highest-Profile Prosecutor |work=[[WNYC]] News |date=January 27, 2011 |url=http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/27/preet-bharara-hard-charging-humble-prosecutor/ |access-date=April 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110418232614/http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2011/jan/27/preet-bharara-hard-charging-humble-prosecutor/ |archive-date=April 18, 2011 }}</ref>


Bharara received a Bachelor of Arts degree ''[[magna cum laude]]'' from [[Harvard College]] in 1990. He then received a [[Juris Doctor]] degree from [[Columbia Law School]] in 1993, where he was a member of the ''[[Columbia Law Review]]''.&lt;ref name=nytimes_20090810/&gt;
Bharara received a Bachelor of Arts degree ''[[magna cum laude]]'' from [[Harvard College]] in 1990. He then received a [[Juris Doctor]] degree from [[Columbia Law School]] in 1993, where he was a member of the ''[[Columbia Law Review]]''.<ref name=nytimes_20090810/>


In 1993, Bharara joined the law firm of [[Gibson, Dunn &amp; Crutcher]] as a litigation associate. In 1996, Bharara joined the firm of [[Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman|Shereff, Friedman, Hoffman &amp; Goodman]], where he did [[White-collar crime|white-collar defense]] work.&lt;ref&gt;Lizz Riggs, [https://today.law.harvard.edu/preet-bharara-and-mindy-kaling-named-harvard-law-school-2014-class-day-speakers/ Preet Bharara and Mindy Kaling are Harvard Law School's 2014 Class Day Speakers], ''Harvard Law Today'' (March 5, 2014).&lt;/ref&gt; He was an assistant [[United States Attorney]] in Manhattan for five years, from 2000 to 2005, bringing criminal cases against the bosses of the [[Gambino crime family]], [[Colombo crime family]], and Asian gangs in New York City.&lt;ref name=daily_telegraph_20070603/&gt;&lt;ref name=wsj_20090211&gt;{{cite news | last=Jones | first=Ashby | title=The Likely Next U.S. Attorney for NY's Southern District: Preet Bharara | work=The Wall Street Journal | date=February 11, 2009 | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/02/11/the-likely-next-us-attorney-for-nys-southern-district-preet-bharara/ | access-date=April 21, 2011}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name=time_20091113&gt;{{cite magazine | last=Calabresi | first=Massimo | title=Prosecuting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Much Harder Than You Think | magazine=Time| date=November 13, 2009 | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1939374,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115070245/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1939374,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=November 15, 2009| access-date=April 21, 2011}}&lt;/ref&gt; From 2005 to 2009, Bharara served as chief counsel to Senator [[Chuck Schumer]]&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/preet-bharara-the-man-who-strikes-fear-into-wall-street/article8748386/|title=Preet Bharara: The man who strikes fear into Wall Street|work=The Globe and Mail |date=February 15, 2013|via=www.theglobeandmail.com}}&lt;/ref&gt; and played a leading role in the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary investigation into the [[2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys|firings of United States attorneys]].&lt;ref name=daily_telegraph_20070603&gt;{{cite news | last=Shipman | first=Tim | title=Mafia prosecutor now has Bush in his sights | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=June 3, 2007 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1553492/Mafia-prosecutor-now-has-Bush-in-his-sights.html | access-date=April 21, 2011 | location=London}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In 1993, Bharara joined the law firm of [[Gibson, Dunn &amp; Crutcher]] as a litigation associate. In 1996, Bharara joined the firm of [[Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman|Shereff, Friedman, Hoffman &amp; Goodman]], where he did [[White-collar crime|white-collar defense]] work.<ref>Lizz Riggs, [https://today.law.harvard.edu/preet-bharara-and-mindy-kaling-named-harvard-law-school-2014-class-day-speakers/ Preet Bharara and Mindy Kaling are Harvard Law School's 2014 Class Day Speakers], ''Harvard Law Today'' (March 5, 2014).</ref> He was an assistant [[United States Attorney]] in Manhattan for five years, from 2000 to 2005, bringing criminal cases against the bosses of the [[Gambino crime family]], [[Colombo crime family]], and Asian gangs in New York City.<ref name=daily_telegraph_20070603/><ref name=wsj_20090211>{{cite news | last=Jones | first=Ashby | title=The Likely Next U.S. Attorney for NY's Southern District: Preet Bharara | work=The Wall Street Journal | date=February 11, 2009 | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/02/11/the-likely-next-us-attorney-for-nys-southern-district-preet-bharara/ | access-date=April 21, 2011}}</ref><ref name=time_20091113>{{cite magazine | last=Calabresi | first=Massimo | title=Prosecuting Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Much Harder Than You Think | magazine=Time| date=November 13, 2009 | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1939374,00.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115070245/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1939374,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=November 15, 2009| access-date=April 21, 2011}}</ref> From 2005 to 2009, Bharara served as chief counsel to Senator [[Chuck Schumer]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/preet-bharara-the-man-who-strikes-fear-into-wall-street/article8748386/|title=Preet Bharara: The man who strikes fear into Wall Street|work=The Globe and Mail |date=February 15, 2013|via=www.theglobeandmail.com}}</ref> and played a leading role in the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary investigation into the [[2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys|firings of United States attorneys]].<ref name=daily_telegraph_20070603>{{cite news | last=Shipman | first=Tim | title=Mafia prosecutor now has Bush in his sights | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=June 3, 2007 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1553492/Mafia-prosecutor-now-has-Bush-in-his-sights.html | access-date=April 21, 2011 | location=London}}</ref>


== U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York ==
== U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York ==
Bharara was nominated to become [[U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York]] by President [[Barack Obama]] on May 15, 2009, and unanimously confirmed by the [[U.S. Senate]]. His nomination to the post was welcomed across the political spectrum, as he was regarded as an "apolitical and fair-minded" figure.&lt;ref name="Parloff"&gt;Roger Parloff, [https://money.cnn.com/2009/05/22/news/newsmakers/parloff_bharara.fortune/index.htm Nominee for Manhattan U.S. Attorney: A nonpartisan star], ''Fortune'' (August 25, 2009).&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara was sworn in as U.S. Attorney on August 13, 2009.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/indian-american-preet-bharara-appears-on-time-cover-568780|title=Indian-American Preet Bharara appears on Time cover|website=NDTV.com|date=February 3, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.wamc.org/a-special-conversation-with-preet-bharara|title=A Special Conversation With Preet Bharara|website=WAMC|access-date=February 9, 2026}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara was nominated to become [[U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York]] by President [[Barack Obama]] on May 15, 2009, and unanimously confirmed by the [[U.S. Senate]]. His nomination to the post was welcomed across the political spectrum, as he was regarded as an "apolitical and fair-minded" figure.<ref name="Parloff">Roger Parloff, [https://money.cnn.com/2009/05/22/news/newsmakers/parloff_bharara.fortune/index.htm Nominee for Manhattan U.S. Attorney: A nonpartisan star], ''Fortune'' (August 25, 2009).</ref> Bharara was sworn in as U.S. Attorney on August 13, 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/indian-american-preet-bharara-appears-on-time-cover-568780|title=Indian-American Preet Bharara appears on Time cover|website=NDTV.com|date=February 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wamc.org/a-special-conversation-with-preet-bharara|title=A Special Conversation With Preet Bharara|website=WAMC|access-date=February 9, 2026}}</ref>


During his time as U.S. Attorney, Bharara was named ''[[India Abroad]]'s'' 2011 Person of the Year.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url= http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-preet-bharara-is-india-abroad-person-of-the-year-2011/20120630.htm |title= Preet Bharara, the Man Who Makes Wall Street Tremble, Is India Abroad Person of the Year 2011 |publisher=Rediff |date=June 30, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt; In 2012, he was named as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.&lt;ref&gt;[https://web.archive.org/web/20120419073157/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2112129,00.html The 2012 Time 100], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', "Preet Bharara". By Viet Dinh. Retrieved April 23, 2012.&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara was also included in ''Bloomberg Markets Magazine''{{'}}s 2012 [[50 Most Influential (Bloomberg Markets ranking)|"50 Most Influential" list]] as well as ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]''{{'}}s 2012 and 2013 annual "New Establishment" lists.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=Bloomberg Markets' 50 Most Influential|url=http://origin-www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2012-09-04/bloomberg-markets-50-most-influential.html#slide23|newspaper=Bloomberg Markets Magazine|date=September 5, 2012|access-date=September 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122224932/http://origin-www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2012-09-04/bloomberg-markets-50-most-influential.html#slide23|archive-date=January 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=The New Establishment 2012|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/business/new-establishment/2012/17-preet-bharara|newspaper=Vanity Fair |date=October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013100744/http://www.vanityfair.com/business/new-establishment/2012/17-preet-bharara|archive-date=October 13, 2012|df=mdy-all}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=The New Establishment 2013 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/business/2013/11/new-establishment-2013|newspaper=Vanity Fair|date=November 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt;
During his time as U.S. Attorney, Bharara was named ''[[India Abroad]]'s'' 2011 Person of the Year.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-preet-bharara-is-india-abroad-person-of-the-year-2011/20120630.htm |title= Preet Bharara, the Man Who Makes Wall Street Tremble, Is India Abroad Person of the Year 2011 |publisher=Rediff |date=June 30, 2012}}</ref> In 2012, he was named as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120419073157/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2112129,00.html The 2012 Time 100], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', "Preet Bharara". By Viet Dinh. Retrieved April 23, 2012.</ref> Bharara was also included in ''Bloomberg Markets Magazine''{{'}}s 2012 [[50 Most Influential (Bloomberg Markets ranking)|"50 Most Influential" list]] as well as ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]''{{'}}s 2012 and 2013 annual "New Establishment" lists.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bloomberg Markets' 50 Most Influential|url=http://origin-www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2012-09-04/bloomberg-markets-50-most-influential.html#slide23|newspaper=Bloomberg Markets Magazine|date=September 5, 2012|access-date=September 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122224932/http://origin-www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2012-09-04/bloomberg-markets-50-most-influential.html#slide23|archive-date=January 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The New Establishment 2012|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/business/new-establishment/2012/17-preet-bharara|newspaper=Vanity Fair |date=October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013100744/http://www.vanityfair.com/business/new-establishment/2012/17-preet-bharara|archive-date=October 13, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The New Establishment 2013 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/business/2013/11/new-establishment-2013|newspaper=Vanity Fair|date=November 2013}}</ref>


=== International investigations ===
=== International investigations ===
[[File:Preet Bharara 2011.jpg|thumb|Bharara (''right'') waits with Attorney General [[Eric Holder]] to announce charges related to the [[2011 alleged Iran assassination plot]]]]
[[File:Preet Bharara 2011.jpg|thumb|Bharara (''right'') waits with Attorney General [[Eric Holder]] to announce charges related to the [[2011 alleged Iran assassination plot]]]]
Bharara's office sent out agents to more than 25 countries to investigate suspects of arms and narcotics trafficking and terrorists, and to bring them to Manhattan to face charges. One case involved [[Viktor Bout]]. Bout was an arms trafficker, who lived in Moscow and had a deal involving selling arms to Colombian terrorists. Bharara argued that this aggressive approach was necessary in post 9/11 era. Defense lawyers criticized the stings, calling Bharara's office "the Southern District of the World". They also argued that American citizens would not appreciate being treated similarly by other countries.&lt;ref name=International&gt;{{cite news|last1=Weiser|first1=Benjamin|title=A New York Prosecutor With Worldwide Reach|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/nyregion/28prosecutor.html|access-date=March 1, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 27, 2011}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara's office sent out agents to more than 25 countries to investigate suspects of arms and narcotics trafficking and terrorists, and to bring them to Manhattan to face charges. One case involved [[Viktor Bout]]. Bout was an arms trafficker, who lived in Moscow and had a deal involving selling arms to Colombian terrorists. Bharara argued that this aggressive approach was necessary in post 9/11 era. Defense lawyers criticized the stings, calling Bharara's office "the Southern District of the World". They also argued that American citizens would not appreciate being treated similarly by other countries.<ref name=International>{{cite news|last1=Weiser|first1=Benjamin|title=A New York Prosecutor With Worldwide Reach|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/nyregion/28prosecutor.html|access-date=March 1, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=March 27, 2011}}</ref>


=== Actions against financial crime ===
=== Actions against financial crime ===
==== Insider trading ====
==== Insider trading ====
In 2012, Bharara was featured on a cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine entitled "This Man is Busting Wall Street" for his office's prosecutions of insider trading and other financial fraud on Wall Street.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|url= http://www.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20120213,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120203153019/http://www.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20120213,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= February 3, 2012|title= This Man is Busting Wall Street |publisher=Time Magazine |date=February 13, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt; From 2009 to 2012 (and ongoing), Bharara's office oversaw the [[Raj Rajaratnam/Galleon Group, Anil Kumar, and Rajat Gupta insider trading cases|Galleon Group insider trading]] investigation against [[Raj Rajaratnam]], [[Rajat Gupta]], [[Anil Kumar]] and more than 60 others. Rajaratnam was convicted at trial on 14 counts related to insider trading.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite press release|title=Hedge Fund Billionaire Raj Rajaratnam Found Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court Of Insider Trading Charges |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/index.html |publisher=US Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York |access-date=June 22, 2011 |date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528211734/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/index.html |archive-date=May 28, 2011 }}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara is said to have "reaffirmed his office’s leading role in pursuing corporate crime with this landmark [[insider trading]] case, which relied on aggressive prosecutorial methods and unprecedented tactics."&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=U.S. Attorney Sends a Message to Wall Street|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/u-s-attorney-sends-a-message-to-wall-street/|access-date=June 22, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 12, 2011|author=Weiser, Benjamin|author2=Lattman, Peter}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In 2012, Bharara was featured on a cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine entitled "This Man is Busting Wall Street" for his office's prosecutions of insider trading and other financial fraud on Wall Street.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20120213,00.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120203153019/http://www.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20120213,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date= February 3, 2012|title= This Man is Busting Wall Street |publisher=Time Magazine |date=February 13, 2012}}</ref> From 2009 to 2012 (and ongoing), Bharara's office oversaw the [[Raj Rajaratnam/Galleon Group, Anil Kumar, and Rajat Gupta insider trading cases|Galleon Group insider trading]] investigation against [[Raj Rajaratnam]], [[Rajat Gupta]], [[Anil Kumar]] and more than 60 others. Rajaratnam was convicted at trial on 14 counts related to insider trading.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Hedge Fund Billionaire Raj Rajaratnam Found Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court Of Insider Trading Charges |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/index.html |publisher=US Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York |access-date=June 22, 2011 |date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528211734/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/index.html |archive-date=May 28, 2011 }}</ref> Bharara is said to have "reaffirmed his office’s leading role in pursuing corporate crime with this landmark [[insider trading]] case, which relied on aggressive prosecutorial methods and unprecedented tactics."<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. Attorney Sends a Message to Wall Street|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/12/u-s-attorney-sends-a-message-to-wall-street/|access-date=June 22, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 12, 2011|author=Weiser, Benjamin|author2=Lattman, Peter}}</ref>


In 2011 when hedge fund portfolio manager [[Chip Skowron]] pleaded guilty to insider trading, Bharara said: "Chip Skowron is the latest example of a portfolio manager willing to pay for proprietary, non-public information that gave him an illegal trading edge over the average investor. The integrity of our market is damaged by people who engage in insider trading...."&lt;ref name="auto"/&gt; Skowron was sent to prison for five years.&lt;ref name="auto"&gt;{{cite web|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/skowron-pleads-guilty-in-insider-trading-scam-2011-08-15|title=Skowron pleads guilty in insider trading scam|first=William|last=Spain|website=MarketWatch|date=15 August 2011}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name="auto1"&gt;{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/business/2012/11/harvard_doctor_turned_hedge_fu.html|title=Harvard doctor turned hedge fund felon lured by ambition, riches|date=27 November 2012|website=nj.com}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara has often spoken publicly about his work&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|last=Beeson|first=Ed|title=When U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara speaks, Wall Street and the world listens|url=http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2012/08/when_us_attorney_preet_bharara.html|newspaper=New Jersey Star-Ledger|date=August 19, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt; and written an op-ed about the culture surrounding corporate crime and its effect on market confidence and business risk.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|author=Bharara, Preet |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2012/07/23/why-corporate-fraud-is-so-rampant-wall-streets-cop.html |title=Why Corporate Fraud Is So Rampant: Wall Street's Cop |publisher=CNBC |date=July 23, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In 2011 when hedge fund portfolio manager [[Chip Skowron]] pleaded guilty to insider trading, Bharara said: "Chip Skowron is the latest example of a portfolio manager willing to pay for proprietary, non-public information that gave him an illegal trading edge over the average investor. The integrity of our market is damaged by people who engage in insider trading...."<ref name="auto"/> Skowron was sent to prison for five years.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/skowron-pleads-guilty-in-insider-trading-scam-2011-08-15|title=Skowron pleads guilty in insider trading scam|first=William|last=Spain|website=MarketWatch|date=15 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/business/2012/11/harvard_doctor_turned_hedge_fu.html|title=Harvard doctor turned hedge fund felon lured by ambition, riches|date=27 November 2012|website=nj.com}}</ref> Bharara has often spoken publicly about his work<ref>{{cite news|last=Beeson|first=Ed|title=When U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara speaks, Wall Street and the world listens|url=http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2012/08/when_us_attorney_preet_bharara.html|newspaper=New Jersey Star-Ledger|date=August 19, 2012}}</ref> and written an op-ed about the culture surrounding corporate crime and its effect on market confidence and business risk.<ref>{{cite web|author=Bharara, Preet |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2012/07/23/why-corporate-fraud-is-so-rampant-wall-streets-cop.html |title=Why Corporate Fraud Is So Rampant: Wall Street's Cop |publisher=CNBC |date=July 23, 2012}}</ref>


After 85 straight convictions for insider-trading cases, he finally lost one on July 17, 2014. This was when a jury acquitted Rajaratnam's younger brother, [[Rengan Rajaratnam|Rengan]], of such charges.&lt;ref name="nytimes.com"&gt;[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/business/Rengan-Rajaratnam-case-shows-limits-of-insider-trading-laws.html "The Limits of the Law in Insider Trading"]. ''The New York Times'' (July 18, 2014). Retrieved March 18, 2015.&lt;/ref&gt;
After 85 straight convictions for insider-trading cases, he finally lost one on July 17, 2014. This was when a jury acquitted Rajaratnam's younger brother, [[Rengan Rajaratnam|Rengan]], of such charges.<ref name="nytimes.com">[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/business/Rengan-Rajaratnam-case-shows-limits-of-insider-trading-laws.html "The Limits of the Law in Insider Trading"]. ''The New York Times'' (July 18, 2014). Retrieved March 18, 2015.</ref>


On October 22, 2015, Bharara dropped seven insider-trading cases two weeks after the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] refused to a review a lower court decision that would make it harder to pursue wrongful-trading cases. The conviction of Michael S. Steinberg was dropped; Steinberg was the highest-ranking officer of [[SAC Capital Advisors]] who had previously been convicted of insider trading.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/business/dealbook/us-prosecutor-to-drop-insider-trading-cases-against-seven.html|title=U.S. Prosecutor to Drop Insider Trading Cases Against Seven|first=Matthew|last=Goldstein|newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 22, 2015|access-date=March 12, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt;
On October 22, 2015, Bharara dropped seven insider-trading cases two weeks after the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] refused to a review a lower court decision that would make it harder to pursue wrongful-trading cases. The conviction of Michael S. Steinberg was dropped; Steinberg was the highest-ranking officer of [[SAC Capital Advisors]] who had previously been convicted of insider trading.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/business/dealbook/us-prosecutor-to-drop-insider-trading-cases-against-seven.html|title=U.S. Prosecutor to Drop Insider Trading Cases Against Seven|first=Matthew|last=Goldstein|newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 22, 2015|access-date=March 12, 2017}}</ref>


In 2013, Bharara announced criminal and civil charges against one of the largest and most successful hedge-fund firms in the United States, SAC Capital Advisors LP, and its founder Steven A. Cohen.&lt;ref name="WSJ SAC Capital"&gt;{{cite news|first1=Jenny|last1=Strasburg|first2=James|last2=Sterngold|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324564704578627680475592130|title=U.S. Attorney Alleges 'Rampant Insider Trading' at SAC |access-date=October 8, 2015|work=Wall Street Journal|date=July 25, 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/08/us-sac-plea-entered-idUSBRE9A710M20131108=Reuters|title=SAC Capital pleads guilty|website=[[Reuters]] |date=November 8, 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt; At USD$1.8 billion, it was the largest settlement ever for insider trading, and the firm also agreed to close down.&lt;ref name="ABC SAC funds"&gt;{{cite news|last1=Jarvis|first1=Rebecca|last2=Katersky|first2=Aaron|last3=Kim|first3=Susanna|title=Indicted Hedge Fund SAC Capital 'Magnet for Market Cheaters'|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/criminal-charges-filed-hedge-fund-insider-trading-11/story?id=19769212|access-date=October 8, 2015|work=abc News|date=July 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=Meet Preet Bharara Who Just Won the Biggest Insider Trading Case Ever|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/04/meet-preet-bharara-who-just-won-the-biggest-insider-trading-case-ever/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 4, 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In 2013, Bharara announced criminal and civil charges against one of the largest and most successful hedge-fund firms in the United States, SAC Capital Advisors LP, and its founder Steven A. Cohen.<ref name="WSJ SAC Capital">{{cite news|first1=Jenny|last1=Strasburg|first2=James|last2=Sterngold|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324564704578627680475592130|title=U.S. Attorney Alleges 'Rampant Insider Trading' at SAC |access-date=October 8, 2015|work=Wall Street Journal|date=July 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/08/us-sac-plea-entered-idUSBRE9A710M20131108=Reuters|title=SAC Capital pleads guilty|website=[[Reuters]] |date=November 8, 2013}}</ref> At USD$1.8 billion, it was the largest settlement ever for insider trading, and the firm also agreed to close down.<ref name="ABC SAC funds">{{cite news|last1=Jarvis|first1=Rebecca|last2=Katersky|first2=Aaron|last3=Kim|first3=Susanna|title=Indicted Hedge Fund SAC Capital 'Magnet for Market Cheaters'|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/criminal-charges-filed-hedge-fund-insider-trading-11/story?id=19769212|access-date=October 8, 2015|work=abc News|date=July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Meet Preet Bharara Who Just Won the Biggest Insider Trading Case Ever|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/11/04/meet-preet-bharara-who-just-won-the-biggest-insider-trading-case-ever/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 4, 2013}}</ref>


==== Citibank ====
==== Citibank ====
[[Citibank]] was charged numerous times by Bharara's office and other federal prosecutors. In 2012, the bank reached a settlement with Bharara's office to pay $158 million for misleading the government into insuring risky loans.&lt;ref name="Suit against Citibank"&gt;{{cite news|agency=The Associated Press|title=Citigroup to Pay $158 Million in Mortgage Fraud Settlement|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/business/citigroup-to-pay-158-million-in-mortgage-fraud-settlement.html|access-date=October 8, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=February 15, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara also made a criminal inquiry into Citibank's Mexican banking unit&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|last1=Protess|first1=Ben|last2=Corkery|first2=Michael|title=Criminal Inquiry Said to Be Opened on Citigroup|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/crime-inquiry-said-to-open-on-citigroup/?_r=0|access-date=October 8, 2015|date=April 2, 2014}}&lt;/ref&gt; In 2014, Citi settled with federal prosecutors for $7 billion for ignoring warnings on risky loans.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=Citibank reaches $7 billion mortgage probe settlement|url=http://jurist.org/paperchase/2014/07/citibank-reaches-7-billion-mortgage-securities-inquiry-settlement.php|access-date=October 8, 2015|work=Jurist.org|date=July 15, 2014}}&lt;/ref&gt;
[[Citibank]] was charged numerous times by Bharara's office and other federal prosecutors. In 2012, the bank reached a settlement with Bharara's office to pay $158 million for misleading the government into insuring risky loans.<ref name="Suit against Citibank">{{cite news|agency=The Associated Press|title=Citigroup to Pay $158 Million in Mortgage Fraud Settlement|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/business/citigroup-to-pay-158-million-in-mortgage-fraud-settlement.html|access-date=October 8, 2015|work=The New York Times|date=February 15, 2012}}</ref> Bharara also made a criminal inquiry into Citibank's Mexican banking unit<ref>{{cite news|last1=Protess|first1=Ben|last2=Corkery|first2=Michael|title=Criminal Inquiry Said to Be Opened on Citigroup|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/crime-inquiry-said-to-open-on-citigroup/?_r=0|access-date=October 8, 2015|date=April 2, 2014}}</ref> In 2014, Citi settled with federal prosecutors for $7 billion for ignoring warnings on risky loans.<ref>{{cite news|title=Citibank reaches $7 billion mortgage probe settlement|url=http://jurist.org/paperchase/2014/07/citibank-reaches-7-billion-mortgage-securities-inquiry-settlement.php|access-date=October 8, 2015|work=Jurist.org|date=July 15, 2014}}</ref>


==== JPMorgan Chase ====
==== JPMorgan Chase ====
Almost as soon as he took office, Bharara began investigating the role of [[Bernie Madoff]]'s primary banker, [[JPMorgan Chase]].&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|author=Scott Cohn |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/jpmorgans-price-tag-settle-madoff-case-2-6b-or-2-2D11869160 |title=JPMorgan settles Madoff case for $2.6B, or 2 weeks revenue |publisher=NBC News.com |date=January 7, 2014 |access-date=January 19, 2014}}&lt;/ref&gt; Eventually, Bharara and JPMorgan reached a [[deferred prosecution]] agreement that called for JPMorgan to forfeit $1.7 billion—the largest forfeiture ever demanded from a bank in American history—to settle charges that it and its predecessors violated the [[Bank Secrecy Act]] by failing to alert state and federal authorities about Madoff's actions.&lt;ref name="Vardi"&gt;{{cite news|last=Vardi|first=Nathan|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2014/01/07/jpmorgan-chase-to-pay-1-7-billion-in-largest-bank-forfeiture-in-history-settles-criminal-madoff-charges/|title=J P Morgan Chase pays $1.7 billion and settles Madoff related criminal case|date=January 7, 2014|work=Forbes}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25641476 JP Morgan to pay $1.7bn to victims of the Madoff fraud] BBC January 7, 2014&lt;/ref&gt;
Almost as soon as he took office, Bharara began investigating the role of [[Bernie Madoff]]'s primary banker, [[JPMorgan Chase]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Scott Cohn |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/jpmorgans-price-tag-settle-madoff-case-2-6b-or-2-2D11869160 |title=JPMorgan settles Madoff case for $2.6B, or 2 weeks revenue |publisher=NBC News.com |date=January 7, 2014 |access-date=January 19, 2014}}</ref> Eventually, Bharara and JPMorgan reached a [[deferred prosecution]] agreement that called for JPMorgan to forfeit $1.7 billion—the largest forfeiture ever demanded from a bank in American history—to settle charges that it and its predecessors violated the [[Bank Secrecy Act]] by failing to alert state and federal authorities about Madoff's actions.<ref name="Vardi">{{cite news|last=Vardi|first=Nathan|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2014/01/07/jpmorgan-chase-to-pay-1-7-billion-in-largest-bank-forfeiture-in-history-settles-criminal-madoff-charges/|title=J P Morgan Chase pays $1.7 billion and settles Madoff related criminal case|date=January 7, 2014|work=Forbes}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25641476 JP Morgan to pay $1.7bn to victims of the Madoff fraud] BBC January 7, 2014</ref>


Bharara's office also handled the criminal prosecutions of several employees at Madoff’s firm and their associates. They were convicted by a jury on March 24, 2014.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/5-former-madoff-employees-found-guilty-of-fraud/|title=Jury Says 5 Madoff Employees Knowingly Aided Swindle of Clients' Billions|last1=Abrams|first1=Rachel|last2=Henriques|first2=Diana |date=March 24, 2014 |access-date=March 12, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara's office also handled the criminal prosecutions of several employees at Madoff’s firm and their associates. They were convicted by a jury on March 24, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/5-former-madoff-employees-found-guilty-of-fraud/|title=Jury Says 5 Madoff Employees Knowingly Aided Swindle of Clients' Billions|last1=Abrams|first1=Rachel|last2=Henriques|first2=Diana |date=March 24, 2014 |access-date=March 12, 2017}}</ref>


==== Bank of America ====
==== Bank of America ====
In 2012, federal prosecutors under Bharara sued [[Bank of America]] for $1 billion, accusing the bank of carrying out a mortgage scheme that defrauded the government during the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.&lt;ref name="Protess"&gt;{{cite news|last=Protess|first=Ben|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/federal-prosecutors-sue-bank-of-america-over-mortgage-program/|title=Federal Prosecutors Sue Bank of America Over Mortgage Program|date=October 24, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times}}&lt;/ref&gt; In 2013, the jury found Bank of America liable for selling [[Fannie Mae]] and [[Freddie Mac]] thousands of defective loans in the first mortgage-fraud case brought by the U.S. government to go to trial.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title= Statement Of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara On The Countrywide, Bank Of America, And Rebecca Mairone Verdict|url= http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/October13/BoAVerdictStatement.php/|publisher=Department of Justice|date=October 23, 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt; The civil verdict also found the bank’s Countrywide Financial unit and former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone liable.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=B of A's Countrywide Found Liable for Defrauding Fannie Mae|url=http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MV4ZPL6TTDST01-6UVBNL9Q27URGNPOQJN103OL25/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 24, 2013|access-date=May 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312064207/http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MV4ZPL6TTDST01-6UVBNL9Q27URGNPOQJN103OL25%2F|archive-date=March 12, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}&lt;/ref&gt; However, in 2016 the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]] ruled that the finding of fact by the jury that low-quality mortgages were supplied by Countrywide to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac supported only "intentional breach of contract," not fraud. The action, for civil fraud, relied on provisions of the [[Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989#Use with respect to the subprime mortgage crisis|Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act]]. This decision turned on lack of intent to defraud at the time the contract to supply mortgages was made.&lt;ref name="WSJ52316"&gt;{{cite news|author1=Aruna Viswanatha and Christina Rexrode|title=Bank of America Penalty Thrown Out in Crisis-Era 'Hustle' Case Appeals court says government didn't prove case, bank doesn't have to pay $1.27 billion|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-throws-out-1-27-billion-penalty-against-bank-of-america-1464018896|access-date=May 24, 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=May 23, 2016}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In 2012, federal prosecutors under Bharara sued [[Bank of America]] for $1 billion, accusing the bank of carrying out a mortgage scheme that defrauded the government during the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.<ref name="Protess">{{cite news|last=Protess|first=Ben|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/federal-prosecutors-sue-bank-of-america-over-mortgage-program/|title=Federal Prosecutors Sue Bank of America Over Mortgage Program|date=October 24, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> In 2013, the jury found Bank of America liable for selling [[Fannie Mae]] and [[Freddie Mac]] thousands of defective loans in the first mortgage-fraud case brought by the U.S. government to go to trial.<ref>{{cite web|title= Statement Of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara On The Countrywide, Bank Of America, And Rebecca Mairone Verdict|url= http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/October13/BoAVerdictStatement.php/|publisher=Department of Justice|date=October 23, 2013}}</ref> The civil verdict also found the bank’s Countrywide Financial unit and former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone liable.<ref>{{cite news|title=B of A's Countrywide Found Liable for Defrauding Fannie Mae|url=http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MV4ZPL6TTDST01-6UVBNL9Q27URGNPOQJN103OL25/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 24, 2013|access-date=May 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312064207/http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MV4ZPL6TTDST01-6UVBNL9Q27URGNPOQJN103OL25%2F|archive-date=March 12, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> However, in 2016 the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]] ruled that the finding of fact by the jury that low-quality mortgages were supplied by Countrywide to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac supported only "intentional breach of contract," not fraud. The action, for civil fraud, relied on provisions of the [[Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989#Use with respect to the subprime mortgage crisis|Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act]]. This decision turned on lack of intent to defraud at the time the contract to supply mortgages was made.<ref name="WSJ52316">{{cite news|author1=Aruna Viswanatha and Christina Rexrode|title=Bank of America Penalty Thrown Out in Crisis-Era 'Hustle' Case Appeals court says government didn't prove case, bank doesn't have to pay $1.27 billion|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-throws-out-1-27-billion-penalty-against-bank-of-america-1464018896|access-date=May 24, 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=May 23, 2016}}</ref>


==== Russian money laundering fraud ====
==== Russian money laundering fraud ====
In 2013, Bharara began investigating a [[money laundering]] fraud scheme in New York City operated by a Russian criminal organization.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/10311071/Sheriff-of-Wall-Street-pursues-case-linked-to-death-of-Russian-lawyer.html|title='Sheriff of Wall Street' pursues case linked to death of Russian lawyer|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-03-22|language=en}}&lt;/ref&gt; The alleged fraud links a $230 million Russian tax refund fraud scheme from 2008 to eleven U.S. real estate corporations.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-civil-forfeiture-complaint-against-real-estate|title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Civil Forfeiture Complaint Against Real Estate Corporations Allegedly Involved In Laundering Proceeds Of Russian Tax Refund Fraud Scheme|website=www.justice.gov|date=May 13, 2015 |language=en|access-date=2017-03-22}}&lt;/ref&gt; The underlying tax refund fraud was first discovered by whistleblower and Russian lawyer. His name was [[Sergei Magnitsky]], who was arrested under tax evasion charges, and within a year he was found dead in his prison cell—a suspicious circumstance.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-magnitsky-idUSBRE96A09V20130711|title=Russia convicts lawyer Magnitsky in posthumous trial|date=2017-07-11|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-03-22}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In 2013, Bharara began investigating a [[money laundering]] fraud scheme in New York City operated by a Russian criminal organization.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/10311071/Sheriff-of-Wall-Street-pursues-case-linked-to-death-of-Russian-lawyer.html|title='Sheriff of Wall Street' pursues case linked to death of Russian lawyer|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-03-22|language=en}}</ref> The alleged fraud links a $230 million Russian tax refund fraud scheme from 2008 to eleven U.S. real estate corporations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-civil-forfeiture-complaint-against-real-estate|title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Civil Forfeiture Complaint Against Real Estate Corporations Allegedly Involved In Laundering Proceeds Of Russian Tax Refund Fraud Scheme|website=www.justice.gov|date=May 13, 2015 |language=en|access-date=2017-03-22}}</ref> The underlying tax refund fraud was first discovered by whistleblower and Russian lawyer. His name was [[Sergei Magnitsky]], who was arrested under tax evasion charges, and within a year he was found dead in his prison cell—a suspicious circumstance.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-magnitsky-idUSBRE96A09V20130711|title=Russia convicts lawyer Magnitsky in posthumous trial|date=2017-07-11|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-03-22}}</ref>


In April 2013, Bharara authorized the FBI to raid the apartment of businessman [[Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov]] in [[Trump Tower]].&lt;ref name="snyder91"&gt;{{cite book|last1=Snyder|first1=Timothy|author-link=Timothy Snyder|title=[[The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America]]|date=2018|publisher=The Bodley Head|location=London, U.K.|isbn=978-1-847-92526-8|pages=102–103|quote=Just a few weeks earlier, in April 2013, the FBI had arrested twenty-nine men suspected of running two gambling rings inside Trump Tower. According to investigators, the operation was overseen by Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, a Russian citizen who also ran a money-laundering operation from a condo directly under Trump's own. As the FBI searched for him, Tokhtakhounov attended the Miss Universe pageant and sat a few seats away from Trump. (The United States attorney who had authorized the Trump Tower raid was Preet Bharara. Upon becoming president, Trump fired Bharara.)}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In April 2013, Bharara authorized the FBI to raid the apartment of businessman [[Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov]] in [[Trump Tower]].<ref name="snyder91">{{cite book|last1=Snyder|first1=Timothy|author-link=Timothy Snyder|title=[[The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America]]|date=2018|publisher=The Bodley Head|location=London, U.K.|isbn=978-1-847-92526-8|pages=102–103|quote=Just a few weeks earlier, in April 2013, the FBI had arrested twenty-nine men suspected of running two gambling rings inside Trump Tower. According to investigators, the operation was overseen by Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, a Russian citizen who also ran a money-laundering operation from a condo directly under Trump's own. As the FBI searched for him, Tokhtakhounov attended the Miss Universe pageant and sat a few seats away from Trump. (The United States attorney who had authorized the Trump Tower raid was Preet Bharara. Upon becoming president, Trump fired Bharara.)}}</ref>


On April 13, 2013, Bharara was on a list released by the [[Russian Federation]] containing Americans banned from entering the country over their alleged [[human rights violation]]s. The list was a direct response to the so-called [[Magnitsky Act|Magnitsky]] list made public by the United States, which included 18 Russians who were subject to asset freezes and visa bans.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/magnitsky-russia-ban-us/24957634.html|title=U.S. Officials On Russian Entry-Ban List|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=April 15, 2013|via=www.rferl.org}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-bans-american-officials-in-retaliatory-move/2013/04/13/9de797ae-a429-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html|title=Russia retaliates against U.S., bans American officials|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2017-03-22}}&lt;/ref&gt;
On April 13, 2013, Bharara was on a list released by the [[Russian Federation]] containing Americans banned from entering the country over their alleged [[human rights violation]]s. The list was a direct response to the so-called [[Magnitsky Act|Magnitsky]] list made public by the United States, which included 18 Russians who were subject to asset freezes and visa bans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/magnitsky-russia-ban-us/24957634.html|title=U.S. Officials On Russian Entry-Ban List|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=April 15, 2013|via=www.rferl.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-bans-american-officials-in-retaliatory-move/2013/04/13/9de797ae-a429-11e2-9c03-6952ff305f35_story.html|title=Russia retaliates against U.S., bans American officials|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2017-03-22}}</ref>


On September 10, 2013, with help from the [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement]]’s Homeland Security Investigations and [[Cyrus Vance Jr.]], the District Attorney for New York County, Bharara's office announced that they had filed a [[Asset forfeiture|civil forfeiture]] complaint, freezing $24 million in assets.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/10300395/New-York-freezes-24m-of-Magnitsky-fraud-assets.html|title=New York freezes $24m of Magnitsky fraud assets|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=March 22, 2017|language=en}}&lt;/ref&gt;
On September 10, 2013, with help from the [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement]]’s Homeland Security Investigations and [[Cyrus Vance Jr.]], the District Attorney for New York County, Bharara's office announced that they had filed a [[Asset forfeiture|civil forfeiture]] complaint, freezing $24 million in assets.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/10300395/New-York-freezes-24m-of-Magnitsky-fraud-assets.html|title=New York freezes $24m of Magnitsky fraud assets|work=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=March 22, 2017|language=en}}</ref>


==== Holocaust survivor fund fraud ====
==== Holocaust survivor fund fraud ====
During his first year in office, Bharara charged 17 managers and employees of the [[Claims Conference|Conference on Jewish Material Claims]] for defrauding Germany $42.5 million by creating thousands of false benefit applications for people who did not suffer in [[the Holocaust]]. This fraud, which had been occurring for 16 years, was related to the $400 million that Germany paid out each year to Holocaust survivors.&lt;ref name="NYDaily News - Holocaust survivor fund fraud"&gt;{{cite news|first= Robert | last= Gearty|title=Holocaust survivor scam nets $42.5 million, 17 charged in swindle: prosecutors|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/holocaust-survivor-scam-nets-42-5-million-17-charged-swindle-prosecutors-article-1.453150|access-date= February 25, 2016|work=New York Daily News|date=November 9, 2010}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name= "CNN Bharara charges holocaust surviver fund"&gt;{{cite news| first=Vivienne | last= Foley|title= NY holocaust fund bilked of $42.5 million, prosecutor says|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/09/new.york.holocaust.fund.fraud/|access-date=February 25, 2016|work= CNN.com|date=November 12, 2010}}&lt;/ref&gt;
During his first year in office, Bharara charged 17 managers and employees of the [[Claims Conference|Conference on Jewish Material Claims]] for defrauding Germany $42.5 million by creating thousands of false benefit applications for people who did not suffer in [[the Holocaust]]. This fraud, which had been occurring for 16 years, was related to the $400 million that Germany paid out each year to Holocaust survivors.<ref name="NYDaily News - Holocaust survivor fund fraud">{{cite news|first= Robert | last= Gearty|title=Holocaust survivor scam nets $42.5 million, 17 charged in swindle: prosecutors|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/holocaust-survivor-scam-nets-42-5-million-17-charged-swindle-prosecutors-article-1.453150|access-date= February 25, 2016|work=New York Daily News|date=November 9, 2010}}</ref><ref name= "CNN Bharara charges holocaust surviver fund">{{cite news| first=Vivienne | last= Foley|title= NY holocaust fund bilked of $42.5 million, prosecutor says|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/11/09/new.york.holocaust.fund.fraud/|access-date=February 25, 2016|work= CNN.com|date=November 12, 2010}}</ref>


==== Art fraud ====
==== Art fraud ====
During his time in office, Bharara oversaw multiple notable art-fraud cases including the $80-million [[Knoedler]] Gallery case, which was the largest art-fraud scheme in American history involving forged masterworks. of artists [[Mark Rothko]], [[Robert Motherwell]] and others.&lt;ref name="FBOI-Rosales-pleads-guilty"&gt;{{cite web|title=Art Dealer Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to $80 Million Fake Art Scam, Money Laundering, and Tax Charges|url=https://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2013/art-dealer-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-80-million-fake-art-scam-money-laundering-and-tax-charges|website=Federal Bureau of Investigation|publisher=U.S. Government|access-date=8 February 2016}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara brought charges in the $2.5-million case of John Re, a man from [[East Hampton, New York]], who sold forged artwork by [[Jackson Pollock]] and others&lt;ref name=NewYorkTimes-Re1&gt;Emma G. Fitzsimmons, "Seller of Art Fakes Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud," The New York Times, Dec. 1, 2014&lt;/ref&gt; and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.&lt;ref name=EastHamptonStar-Re1&gt;T.E. McMorrow, "Sentenced in Fake-Pollock Scam; John D. Re gets five years from federal judge for bilking unwary buyers," East Hampton Star, May 14, 2015&lt;/ref&gt; Also Bharara charged [[Eric Spoutz]], an American [[art dealer]]. Spoutz was charged with selling hundreds of fake paintings falsely attributed to American masters. Spoutz was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit the $1.45 million he made from the scheme and to pay $154,100 in restitution.&lt;ref name=FBI1&gt;"Forging Papers to Sell Fake Art," Federal Bureau of Investigation (press release), April 6, 2017&lt;/ref&gt;
During his time in office, Bharara oversaw multiple notable art-fraud cases including the $80-million [[Knoedler]] Gallery case, which was the largest art-fraud scheme in American history involving forged masterworks. of artists [[Mark Rothko]], [[Robert Motherwell]] and others.<ref name="FBOI-Rosales-pleads-guilty">{{cite web|title=Art Dealer Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to $80 Million Fake Art Scam, Money Laundering, and Tax Charges|url=https://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2013/art-dealer-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-80-million-fake-art-scam-money-laundering-and-tax-charges|website=Federal Bureau of Investigation|publisher=U.S. Government|access-date=8 February 2016}}</ref> Bharara brought charges in the $2.5-million case of John Re, a man from [[East Hampton, New York]], who sold forged artwork by [[Jackson Pollock]] and others<ref name=NewYorkTimes-Re1>Emma G. Fitzsimmons, "Seller of Art Fakes Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud," The New York Times, Dec. 1, 2014</ref> and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.<ref name=EastHamptonStar-Re1>T.E. McMorrow, "Sentenced in Fake-Pollock Scam; John D. Re gets five years from federal judge for bilking unwary buyers," East Hampton Star, May 14, 2015</ref> Also Bharara charged [[Eric Spoutz]], an American [[art dealer]]. Spoutz was charged with selling hundreds of fake paintings falsely attributed to American masters. Spoutz was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit the $1.45 million he made from the scheme and to pay $154,100 in restitution.<ref name=FBI1>"Forging Papers to Sell Fake Art," Federal Bureau of Investigation (press release), April 6, 2017</ref>


==== Toyota deferred prosecution ====
==== Toyota deferred prosecution ====
In March 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged [[Toyota]] by information with one count of wire fraud for lying to consumers about two safety-related issues in the company’s cars, each of which caused [[2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls|unintended acceleration]]. Under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that Toyota entered into the same day the information was filed, Toyota agreed to pay a $1.2-billion financial penalty, the largest criminal penalty ever imposed on an auto manufacturer. The company also admitted the truth of a detailed statement of facts accompanying the DPA, and agreed to submit to a three-year monitorship.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/business/toyota-reaches-1-2-billion-settlement-in-criminal-inquiry.html|title=Toyota Is Fined $1.2 Billion for Concealing Safety Defects|last1=Vlasic|first1=Bill|date=2014-03-19|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-03-22|last2=Apuzzo|first2=Matt|issn=0362-4331}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In March 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged [[Toyota]] by information with one count of wire fraud for lying to consumers about two safety-related issues in the company’s cars, each of which caused [[2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls|unintended acceleration]]. Under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that Toyota entered into the same day the information was filed, Toyota agreed to pay a $1.2-billion financial penalty, the largest criminal penalty ever imposed on an auto manufacturer. The company also admitted the truth of a detailed statement of facts accompanying the DPA, and agreed to submit to a three-year monitorship.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/business/toyota-reaches-1-2-billion-settlement-in-criminal-inquiry.html|title=Toyota Is Fined $1.2 Billion for Concealing Safety Defects|last1=Vlasic|first1=Bill|date=2014-03-19|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-03-22|last2=Apuzzo|first2=Matt|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


=== Public corruption ===
=== Public corruption ===
During his tenure, Bharara "successfully prosecuted a dozen current or former state legislators, as well as 15 local officials, party leaders, political consultants and fund-raisers, including two current or former New York City Council members. Only one was acquitted".&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/12/nyregion/preet-bharara-politics-us-attorney.html|title=Preet Bharara Shunned Politics. His End Was Tinged by Them.|first1=Benjamin|last1=Weiser|first2=Ben|last2=Protess|first3=Matthew|last3=Goldstein|first4=William K.|last4=Rashbaum|date=March 13, 2017|via=NYTimes.com}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara charged Republican Senator [[Vincent Leibell]],&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-the-hudson/2015/01/23/bharara-rips-albanys-cauldron-of-corruption/22237421/|title=Bharara rips Albany's "cauldron of corruption"|first=Joseph|last=Spector|website=The Journal News|date=January 23, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt; Democratic Senator [[Hiram Monserrate]],&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/exclusive-monserrate-to-face-federal-corruption-charges/1868481/|title=Monserrate Turns Himself in to Face Corruption Charges|first1=Jonathan|last1=Dienst|first2=Alice|last2=McQuillan|first3=Tim|last3=Minton |date=October 18, 2010|website=NBC News}}&lt;/ref&gt; Democratic New York City Councilman [[Larry Seabrook]],&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/13180-nyc-councilman-charged-corruption|title=NYC Councilman Charged with Corruption|date=February 10, 2010|website=WQXR}}&lt;/ref&gt; and Democratic Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|last=Glenza|first=Jessica|title=Jury Finds Yonkers Officials Guilty in Corruption Trial|url=http://rivertowns.dailyvoice.com/news/jury-finds-annabi-jereis-guilty-corruption|publisher=The Rivertowns Daily Voice|date=March 29, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|title=Sandy Annabi holds 'head up high' as she enters prison|url=http://newyork.newsday.com/nation/sandy-annabi-holds-head-up-high-as-she-enters-prison-1.4747092|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411121743/http://newyork.newsday.com/nation/sandy-annabi-holds-head-up-high-as-she-enters-prison-1.4747092|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 11, 2013|access-date=March 4, 2013|newspaper=Newsday Westchester|date=March 4, 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara’s office uncovered an alleged corruption ring involving New York State Senator [[Carl Kruger]], a Democrat. In April 2012, Kruger was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite press release|title=Former New York State Senator Carl Kruger Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 7 Years in Prison for Bribery Schemes|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April12/krugercarlandmichaelturanosentencing.html|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|access-date=May 4, 2012|date=April 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627074019/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April12/krugercarlandmichaelturanosentencing.html|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}&lt;/ref&gt; In February 2011, Bharara announced the indictment of five consultants working on New York City’s electronic payroll and timekeeping project, [[CityTime payroll scandal|CityTime]], for misappropriating more than $80 million from the project.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite press release|title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Four New Defendants in an Unprecedented Scheme to Defraud New York City in Connection with Citytime Project|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/June11/citytimes2indictmentpr.pdf|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|date=June 20, 2011|access-date=March 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226042743/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/June11/citytimes2indictmentpr.pdf|archive-date=December 26, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}&lt;/ref&gt;
During his tenure, Bharara "successfully prosecuted a dozen current or former state legislators, as well as 15 local officials, party leaders, political consultants and fund-raisers, including two current or former New York City Council members. Only one was acquitted".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/12/nyregion/preet-bharara-politics-us-attorney.html|title=Preet Bharara Shunned Politics. His End Was Tinged by Them.|first1=Benjamin|last1=Weiser|first2=Ben|last2=Protess|first3=Matthew|last3=Goldstein|first4=William K.|last4=Rashbaum|date=March 13, 2017|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> Bharara charged Republican Senator [[Vincent Leibell]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-the-hudson/2015/01/23/bharara-rips-albanys-cauldron-of-corruption/22237421/|title=Bharara rips Albany's "cauldron of corruption"|first=Joseph|last=Spector|website=The Journal News|date=January 23, 2015}}</ref> Democratic Senator [[Hiram Monserrate]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/exclusive-monserrate-to-face-federal-corruption-charges/1868481/|title=Monserrate Turns Himself in to Face Corruption Charges|first1=Jonathan|last1=Dienst|first2=Alice|last2=McQuillan|first3=Tim|last3=Minton |date=October 18, 2010|website=NBC News}}</ref> Democratic New York City Councilman [[Larry Seabrook]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wqxr.org/story/13180-nyc-councilman-charged-corruption|title=NYC Councilman Charged with Corruption|date=February 10, 2010|website=WQXR}}</ref> and Democratic Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi.<ref>{{cite web|last=Glenza|first=Jessica|title=Jury Finds Yonkers Officials Guilty in Corruption Trial|url=http://rivertowns.dailyvoice.com/news/jury-finds-annabi-jereis-guilty-corruption|publisher=The Rivertowns Daily Voice|date=March 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sandy Annabi holds 'head up high' as she enters prison|url=http://newyork.newsday.com/nation/sandy-annabi-holds-head-up-high-as-she-enters-prison-1.4747092|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411121743/http://newyork.newsday.com/nation/sandy-annabi-holds-head-up-high-as-she-enters-prison-1.4747092|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 11, 2013|access-date=March 4, 2013|newspaper=Newsday Westchester|date=March 4, 2013}}</ref> Bharara’s office uncovered an alleged corruption ring involving New York State Senator [[Carl Kruger]], a Democrat. In April 2012, Kruger was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Former New York State Senator Carl Kruger Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 7 Years in Prison for Bribery Schemes|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April12/krugercarlandmichaelturanosentencing.html|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|access-date=May 4, 2012|date=April 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627074019/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April12/krugercarlandmichaelturanosentencing.html|archive-date=June 27, 2013|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In February 2011, Bharara announced the indictment of five consultants working on New York City’s electronic payroll and timekeeping project, [[CityTime payroll scandal|CityTime]], for misappropriating more than $80 million from the project.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Charges Against Four New Defendants in an Unprecedented Scheme to Defraud New York City in Connection with Citytime Project|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/June11/citytimes2indictmentpr.pdf|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|date=June 20, 2011|access-date=March 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226042743/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/June11/citytimes2indictmentpr.pdf|archive-date=December 26, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>


On April 2, 2013, Bharara unsealed federal corruption charges against Democratic New York State Senator [[Malcolm Smith (American politician)|Malcolm Smith]], Republican New York City Councilman [[Dan Halloran]], and several other Republican party officials. The federal complaint alleged that Smith attempted to secure a spot on the Republican ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral election through bribery and fraud.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite press release |author=&lt;!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--&gt; |title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney And FBI Assistant Director-In-Charge Announce Federal Corruption Charges Against New York State Senator Malcolm Smith And New York City Council Member Daniel Halloran |date=April 2, 2013 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]], US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April13/SmithetalPR.php |access-date=April 2, 2013 }}&lt;/ref&gt;
On April 2, 2013, Bharara unsealed federal corruption charges against Democratic New York State Senator [[Malcolm Smith (American politician)|Malcolm Smith]], Republican New York City Councilman [[Dan Halloran]], and several other Republican party officials. The federal complaint alleged that Smith attempted to secure a spot on the Republican ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral election through bribery and fraud.<ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney And FBI Assistant Director-In-Charge Announce Federal Corruption Charges Against New York State Senator Malcolm Smith And New York City Council Member Daniel Halloran |date=April 2, 2013 |publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]], US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April13/SmithetalPR.php |access-date=April 2, 2013 }}</ref>


==== New York Moreland Commission ====
==== New York Moreland Commission ====
In 2014, Bharara's office began an inquiry into Gov. [[Andrew Cuomo]]'s decision to end the work of the [[Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption|Moreland Commission]], an anticorruption panel. After a ''New York Times'' report documenting Cuomo's staff's involvement with the commission and subsequent statements by commissioners defending the Governor, Bharara warned of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.&lt;ref name="The New York Times"&gt;{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/nyregion/cuomo-responding-to-us-attorney-seeks-to-justify-recent-contacts-with-corruption-panel.html|title=Cuomo, Responding to U.S. Attorney, Seeks to Justify Recent Contacts With Corruption Panel|last1=Santora|first1=Marc|date=August 1, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In 2014, Bharara's office began an inquiry into Gov. [[Andrew Cuomo]]'s decision to end the work of the [[Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption|Moreland Commission]], an anticorruption panel. After a ''New York Times'' report documenting Cuomo's staff's involvement with the commission and subsequent statements by commissioners defending the Governor, Bharara warned of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.<ref name="The New York Times">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/nyregion/cuomo-responding-to-us-attorney-seeks-to-justify-recent-contacts-with-corruption-panel.html|title=Cuomo, Responding to U.S. Attorney, Seeks to Justify Recent Contacts With Corruption Panel|last1=Santora|first1=Marc|date=August 1, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>


==== Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver ====
==== Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver ====
Bharara made national headlines after investigating 11-term [[Speaker of the New York State Assembly]] [[Sheldon Silver]], a Democrat, for taking millions of dollars in payoffs. Silver was arrested in January 2015.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|author1=William Rashbaum|author2=Thomas Kaplan|title=Sheldon Silver, Assembly Speaker, Took Millions in Payoffs, U.S. Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/nyregion/speaker-of-new-york-assembly-sheldon-silver-is-arrested-in-corruption-case.html|access-date=January 25, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 22, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt; Silver was subsequently convicted on all counts, triggering his automatic expulsion from the Assembly.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news |last1=Campanile |first1=Carl |title=Sheldon Silver elected to 11th term as speaker, despite probe |url=https://nypost.com/2015/01/07/sheldon-silver-elected-to-11th-term-as-speaker-despite-probe/ |access-date=February 23, 2015 |newspaper=New York Post |date=January 7, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news |url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2015/01/30/silver-to-resign-as-speaker-on-monday.html |title=Silver to Resign as Speaker on Monday |publisher=NY1 News |date=January 30, 2015 |access-date=January 30, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name=":0"&gt;{{Cite news|title = Sheldon Silver, Ex-New York Assembly Speaker, Is Found Guilty on All Counts|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/nyregion/sheldon-silver-guilty-corruption-trial.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = November 30, 2015|access-date = November 30, 2015|first1 = Benjamin|last1 = Weiser|first2 = Susanne|last2 = Craig}}&lt;/ref&gt; During the Silver prosecution, Judge [[Valerie Caproni]] criticized Bharara's public statements, writing that "while castigating politicians in Albany for playing fast and loose with the ethical rules that govern their conduct, Bharara strayed so close to the edge of the rules governing his own conduct."&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|last1=Stewart|first1=James B.|title=Some Fear Fallout From Preet Bharara's Tension With Judges|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/business/preet-bharara-and-federal-judges-trade-barbs-and-some-fear-consequences.html|work=The New York Times|date=16 April 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name="Creating"&gt;{{cite news|last1=Bennett L. Gershman|title=Preet Bharara is an entertaining speaker, but he goes too far.|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/03/preet_bharara_on_sheldon_silver_the_prosecutor_could_prejudice_a_jury.html|access-date=December 16, 2015|work=Slate|date=March 2, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara made national headlines after investigating 11-term [[Speaker of the New York State Assembly]] [[Sheldon Silver]], a Democrat, for taking millions of dollars in payoffs. Silver was arrested in January 2015.<ref>{{cite news|author1=William Rashbaum|author2=Thomas Kaplan|title=Sheldon Silver, Assembly Speaker, Took Millions in Payoffs, U.S. Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/nyregion/speaker-of-new-york-assembly-sheldon-silver-is-arrested-in-corruption-case.html|access-date=January 25, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 22, 2015}}</ref> Silver was subsequently convicted on all counts, triggering his automatic expulsion from the Assembly.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Campanile |first1=Carl |title=Sheldon Silver elected to 11th term as speaker, despite probe |url=https://nypost.com/2015/01/07/sheldon-silver-elected-to-11th-term-as-speaker-despite-probe/ |access-date=February 23, 2015 |newspaper=New York Post |date=January 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2015/01/30/silver-to-resign-as-speaker-on-monday.html |title=Silver to Resign as Speaker on Monday |publisher=NY1 News |date=January 30, 2015 |access-date=January 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title = Sheldon Silver, Ex-New York Assembly Speaker, Is Found Guilty on All Counts|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/nyregion/sheldon-silver-guilty-corruption-trial.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = November 30, 2015|access-date = November 30, 2015|first1 = Benjamin|last1 = Weiser|first2 = Susanne|last2 = Craig}}</ref> During the Silver prosecution, Judge [[Valerie Caproni]] criticized Bharara's public statements, writing that "while castigating politicians in Albany for playing fast and loose with the ethical rules that govern their conduct, Bharara strayed so close to the edge of the rules governing his own conduct."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stewart|first1=James B.|title=Some Fear Fallout From Preet Bharara's Tension With Judges|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/business/preet-bharara-and-federal-judges-trade-barbs-and-some-fear-consequences.html|work=The New York Times|date=16 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Creating">{{cite news|last1=Bennett L. Gershman|title=Preet Bharara is an entertaining speaker, but he goes too far.|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/03/preet_bharara_on_sheldon_silver_the_prosecutor_could_prejudice_a_jury.html|access-date=December 16, 2015|work=Slate|date=March 2, 2015}}</ref>


====Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos====
====Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos====
Republican Senate Majority Leader [[Dean Skelos]] and his son, Adam Skelos, were arrested and charged with six counts of [[corruption]] on May 4, 2015. The criminal complaint included [[extortion]], [[fraud]], and [[Bribery|bribe]] solicitation charges. Bharara accused Skelos of taking official actions to benefit various businesses in return for payments to his son.&lt;ref name="Craig"&gt;{{cite news |last=Craig |first=Susanne |date=May 4, 2015 |title=New York Senate Leader and Son Are Arrested on Corruption Charges |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/nyregion/dean-skelos-new-york-senate-leader-and-son-are-arrested-on-corruption-charges.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2016}}&lt;/ref&gt; On May 28, 2015, Skelos and his son were indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts of bribery, extortion, [[Mail and wire fraud|wire fraud]], and conspiracy.&lt;ref name="Rashbaum"&gt;{{cite news |last=Rashbaum |first=William K. |date=May 28, 2015 |title=Grand Jury Indicts Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, and Son in Corruption Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/nyregion/dean-skelos-ex-senate-leader-and-son-are-indicted-in-corruption-case.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2016}}&lt;/ref&gt; In July 2015, in an expanded indictment, federal prosecutors added bribery charges.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news |last=Orden |first=Erica |date=July 21, 2015 |title=Sen. Dean Skelos, Son Face New Charges in Extortion Case |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/sen-dean-skelos-son-face-new-charges-in-extortion-case-1437532100 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=June 28, 2016}}{{link note |note=subscription or log-in required}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Republican Senate Majority Leader [[Dean Skelos]] and his son, Adam Skelos, were arrested and charged with six counts of [[corruption]] on May 4, 2015. The criminal complaint included [[extortion]], [[fraud]], and [[Bribery|bribe]] solicitation charges. Bharara accused Skelos of taking official actions to benefit various businesses in return for payments to his son.<ref name="Craig">{{cite news |last=Craig |first=Susanne |date=May 4, 2015 |title=New York Senate Leader and Son Are Arrested on Corruption Charges |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/nyregion/dean-skelos-new-york-senate-leader-and-son-are-arrested-on-corruption-charges.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref> On May 28, 2015, Skelos and his son were indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts of bribery, extortion, [[Mail and wire fraud|wire fraud]], and conspiracy.<ref name="Rashbaum">{{cite news |last=Rashbaum |first=William K. |date=May 28, 2015 |title=Grand Jury Indicts Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, and Son in Corruption Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/nyregion/dean-skelos-ex-senate-leader-and-son-are-indicted-in-corruption-case.html |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref> In July 2015, in an expanded indictment, federal prosecutors added bribery charges.<ref>{{cite news |last=Orden |first=Erica |date=July 21, 2015 |title=Sen. Dean Skelos, Son Face New Charges in Extortion Case |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/sen-dean-skelos-son-face-new-charges-in-extortion-case-1437532100 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=June 28, 2016}}{{link note |note=subscription or log-in required}}</ref>


On December 11, 2015, a unanimous jury convicted Dean and Adam Skelos of all eight counts of bribery, extortion, and corruption. The trial verdict automatically terminated Dean Skelos from the state legislature.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news |last1=Rashbaum |first1=William K. |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |date=December 11, 2015 |title=Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, and His Son Are Convicted of Corruption |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/nyregion/dean-skelos-adam-skelos-guilty-corruption-trial.html?_r=0 |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2016}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Barbara |last2=Bekiempis |first2=Victoria |last3=Gregorian |first3=Dareh |date=December 11, 2015 |title=Dean Skelos guilty in corruption case; former state Senate Majority Leader and son now face up to 130 years in prison |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/dean-skelos-son-guilty-corruption-case-article-1.2463065 |newspaper=New York Daily News |access-date=June 28, 2016}}&lt;/ref&gt; On September 26, 2017, the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]] vacated the convictions of the Skeloses and ordered a retrial.&lt;ref name="2015ConvictionOverturned"&gt;Benjamin Weisner, [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/nyregion/dean-skelos-2015-corruption-conviction-overturned.html Dean Skelos's 2015 Corruption Conviction Is Overturned], ''New York Times'' (September 26, 2017).&lt;/ref&gt; The retrial of Skelos and his son began on June 19, 2018.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web |url=https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/new-york/2018/06/19/corruption-retrial-begins-skelos-son/36181555/ |title=Corruption retrial begins for Skelos, son |website=Pressconnects.com |date=June 19, 2018}}&lt;/ref&gt; Following a retrial, Skelos and his son were found guilty of eight felonies on July 17, 2018.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web |url=https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime/ex-senate-leader-dean-skelos-son-guilty-again/71-574768251 |title=Ex-Senate Leader Dean Skelos, son guilty again |website=wgrz.com |last=Campbell |first=Jon |date=July 17, 2018}}&lt;/ref&gt; On October 23, 2018, Skelos was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.&lt;ref name=NYTS&gt;{{cite news |last1=Weiser |first1=Benjamin |last2=Wang |first2=Vivian |title=Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, Gets 4 Years and 3 Months in Prison |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/nyregion/dean-skelos-sentenced-prison-trial.html |access-date=October 25, 2018 |work=New York Times |date=October 25, 2018 |page=A24}}&lt;/ref&gt;
On December 11, 2015, a unanimous jury convicted Dean and Adam Skelos of all eight counts of bribery, extortion, and corruption. The trial verdict automatically terminated Dean Skelos from the state legislature.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rashbaum |first1=William K. |last2=Craig |first2=Susanne |date=December 11, 2015 |title=Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, and His Son Are Convicted of Corruption |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/nyregion/dean-skelos-adam-skelos-guilty-corruption-trial.html?_r=0 |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Barbara |last2=Bekiempis |first2=Victoria |last3=Gregorian |first3=Dareh |date=December 11, 2015 |title=Dean Skelos guilty in corruption case; former state Senate Majority Leader and son now face up to 130 years in prison |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/dean-skelos-son-guilty-corruption-case-article-1.2463065 |newspaper=New York Daily News |access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref> On September 26, 2017, the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]] vacated the convictions of the Skeloses and ordered a retrial.<ref name="2015ConvictionOverturned">Benjamin Weisner, [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/nyregion/dean-skelos-2015-corruption-conviction-overturned.html Dean Skelos's 2015 Corruption Conviction Is Overturned], ''New York Times'' (September 26, 2017).</ref> The retrial of Skelos and his son began on June 19, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/new-york/2018/06/19/corruption-retrial-begins-skelos-son/36181555/ |title=Corruption retrial begins for Skelos, son |website=Pressconnects.com |date=June 19, 2018}}</ref> Following a retrial, Skelos and his son were found guilty of eight felonies on July 17, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime/ex-senate-leader-dean-skelos-son-guilty-again/71-574768251 |title=Ex-Senate Leader Dean Skelos, son guilty again |website=wgrz.com |last=Campbell |first=Jon |date=July 17, 2018}}</ref> On October 23, 2018, Skelos was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.<ref name=NYTS>{{cite news |last1=Weiser |first1=Benjamin |last2=Wang |first2=Vivian |title=Dean Skelos, Ex-New York Senate Leader, Gets 4 Years and 3 Months in Prison |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/24/nyregion/dean-skelos-sentenced-prison-trial.html |access-date=October 25, 2018 |work=New York Times |date=October 25, 2018 |page=A24}}</ref>


=== Gang crimes and organized crime ===
=== Gang crimes and organized crime ===
From 2009 to 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has convicted more than 1,000 of approximately 1,300 people charged in 52 large-scale takedowns of [[street drug]] and [[drug trafficking organizations]].&lt;ref name="BeekmanStreetGang"&gt;{{cite news|author=Daniel Beekman|title=Preet Bharara wages war on street gangs, reducing violence in hotspots for gang activity|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bharara-wages-war-street-gangs-article-1.1731521|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=March 24, 2014}}&lt;/ref&gt; On lowering violent crime rates, Bharara has said, "You can measure the number of people arrested and the number of shootings, but success is when you lift the sense of intimidation and fear."&lt;ref name="BeekmanStreetGang"/&gt; Bharara also oversaw the largest criminal sweep of gangs in [[Newburgh, New York]], working with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security's [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] and local law enforcement agencies to bring charges against members of the Newburgh [[Bloods]] and Newburgh [[Latin Kings (gang)|Latin Kings]] gangs, among others.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite press release|title=United States Charges 78 Members and Associates of Newburgh Bloods and Latin Kings with Narcotics-Trafficking Crimes|url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2010/nyfo051310a.htm|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|date=March 13, 2010}}&lt;/ref&gt; In 2010, Bharara oversaw the prosecution of eight longshoremen on charges of participation in a multimillion-dollar [[cocaine trafficking]] enterprise along the [[Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor|Waterfront]], operated by a [[Illegal drug trade in Panama|Panamanian drug organization]].&lt;ref&gt;John Eligon, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/nyregion/06longshore.html 8 Longshoremen Charged With Smuggling Cocaine], ''The New York Times'' (October 5, 2010).&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Scott Shifrel, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/longshoremen-busted-helping-push-ton-panamanian-cocaine-ny-nj-port-article-1.189379 Longshoremen busted for helping push a ton of Panamanian cocaine through NY, NJ port], ''The New York Times'' (October 5, 2010).&lt;/ref&gt;
From 2009 to 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has convicted more than 1,000 of approximately 1,300 people charged in 52 large-scale takedowns of [[street drug]] and [[drug trafficking organizations]].<ref name="BeekmanStreetGang">{{cite news|author=Daniel Beekman|title=Preet Bharara wages war on street gangs, reducing violence in hotspots for gang activity|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bharara-wages-war-street-gangs-article-1.1731521|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=March 24, 2014}}</ref> On lowering violent crime rates, Bharara has said, "You can measure the number of people arrested and the number of shootings, but success is when you lift the sense of intimidation and fear."<ref name="BeekmanStreetGang"/> Bharara also oversaw the largest criminal sweep of gangs in [[Newburgh, New York]], working with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security's [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] and local law enforcement agencies to bring charges against members of the Newburgh [[Bloods]] and Newburgh [[Latin Kings (gang)|Latin Kings]] gangs, among others.<ref>{{cite press release|title=United States Charges 78 Members and Associates of Newburgh Bloods and Latin Kings with Narcotics-Trafficking Crimes|url=https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2010/nyfo051310a.htm|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|date=March 13, 2010}}</ref> In 2010, Bharara oversaw the prosecution of eight longshoremen on charges of participation in a multimillion-dollar [[cocaine trafficking]] enterprise along the [[Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor|Waterfront]], operated by a [[Illegal drug trade in Panama|Panamanian drug organization]].<ref>John Eligon, [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/nyregion/06longshore.html 8 Longshoremen Charged With Smuggling Cocaine], ''The New York Times'' (October 5, 2010).</ref><ref>Scott Shifrel, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/longshoremen-busted-helping-push-ton-panamanian-cocaine-ny-nj-port-article-1.189379 Longshoremen busted for helping push a ton of Panamanian cocaine through NY, NJ port], ''The New York Times'' (October 5, 2010).</ref>


In January 2011, Bharara's office participated in a multi-state organized crime takedown, charging 26 members of the [[Gambino crime family]] with [[racketeering]] and murder, as well as narcotics and firearms charges.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite press release|title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges 26 Gambino Crime Family Leaders, Members, and Associates on Racketeering, Murder, Narcotics, Firearms, and Other Charges|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January11/gambinotakedownpr.pdf|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|date=January 20, 2011|access-date=March 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410234401/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January11/gambinotakedownpr.pdf|archive-date=April 10, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}&lt;/ref&gt; This action was part of a coordinated effort that also involved arrests in Brooklyn; [[Newark, New Jersey]], and [[Providence, Rhode Island]]; according to the FBI, this was the largest single-day operation against the [[Italian-American Mafia|Mafia]] in U.S. history.&lt;ref&gt;
In January 2011, Bharara's office participated in a multi-state organized crime takedown, charging 26 members of the [[Gambino crime family]] with [[racketeering]] and murder, as well as narcotics and firearms charges.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges 26 Gambino Crime Family Leaders, Members, and Associates on Racketeering, Murder, Narcotics, Firearms, and Other Charges|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January11/gambinotakedownpr.pdf|publisher=U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|date=January 20, 2011|access-date=March 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410234401/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/January11/gambinotakedownpr.pdf|archive-date=April 10, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> This action was part of a coordinated effort that also involved arrests in Brooklyn; [[Newark, New Jersey]], and [[Providence, Rhode Island]]; according to the FBI, this was the largest single-day operation against the [[Italian-American Mafia|Mafia]] in U.S. history.<ref>
*[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/91-leaders-members-and-associates-la-cosa-nostra-families-four-districts-charged-racketeering 91 Leaders, Members and Associates of La Cosa Nostra Families in Four Districts Charged with Racketeering and Related Crimes, Including Murder and Extortion], United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (January 20, 2011).  
*[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/91-leaders-members-and-associates-la-cosa-nostra-families-four-districts-charged-racketeering 91 Leaders, Members and Associates of La Cosa Nostra Families in Four Districts Charged with Racketeering and Related Crimes, Including Murder and Extortion], United States Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (January 20, 2011).  
*William K. Rashbaum, [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/nyregion/21mob.html Nearly 125 Arrested in Sweeping Mob Roundup], ''The New York Times'' (January 20, 2011).&lt;/ref&gt; In August 2016, Bharara's office charged 46 leaders, members, and associates of [[La Cosa Nostra]]&amp;mdash;including four out of the [[Five Families]] (Gambino, [[Genovese family|Genovese]], [[Lucchese family|Lucchese]], and [[Bonanno family|Bonanno]])&amp;mdash;in an extensive racketeering conspiracy.&lt;ref&gt;
*William K. Rashbaum, [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/nyregion/21mob.html Nearly 125 Arrested in Sweeping Mob Roundup], ''The New York Times'' (January 20, 2011).</ref> In August 2016, Bharara's office charged 46 leaders, members, and associates of [[La Cosa Nostra]]&amp;mdash;including four out of the [[Five Families]] (Gambino, [[Genovese family|Genovese]], [[Lucchese family|Lucchese]], and [[Bonanno family|Bonanno]])&amp;mdash;in an extensive racketeering conspiracy.<ref>
*[https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-charges-46-leaders-members-and-associates-several-organized-crime 46 Leaders, Members, and Associates of Several Organized Crime Families Of La Cosa Nostra With Wide-Ranging Racketeering Charges] (press release), United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (August 4, 2016).
*[https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-charges-46-leaders-members-and-associates-several-organized-crime 46 Leaders, Members, and Associates of Several Organized Crime Families Of La Cosa Nostra With Wide-Ranging Racketeering Charges] (press release), United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (August 4, 2016).
*Eli Rosenberg, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/nyregion/mafia-five-families-racketeering-conspiracy.html 46 Charged in Mafia Racketeering Conspiracy], ''The New York Times'' (August 4, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt;
*Eli Rosenberg, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/nyregion/mafia-five-families-racketeering-conspiracy.html 46 Charged in Mafia Racketeering Conspiracy], ''The New York Times'' (August 4, 2016).</ref>


At a news conference on September 7, 2016 following the arrests of Shimen Liebowitz and Aharon Goldberg, which were two [[rabbi]]s implicated in the [[Kiryas Joel murder conspiracy]], Bharara called it a "chilling plot," wherein the plotters "met repeatedly to plan the kidnapping and to pay more than $55,000 to an individual they believed would carry it out."&lt;ref name="Orthodox Jewish"&gt;Gajanan, Mahita (September 7, 2016). [https://time.com/4483189/orthodox-jewish-men-arrested-kidnap-murder-plot/ "Rabbi and Orthodox Jewish Man Plotted to Kidnap and Murder Husband to Get Divorce for his Wife, Officials Say"], ''Time''&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;(September 7, 2016). [https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrest-rabbi-and-member-satmar-community-conspiring "Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Arrest of Rabbi and Member of Satmar Community for Conspiring to Kidnap and Murder"], ''United States Department of Justice''&lt;/ref&gt; The rabbis were convicted and sentenced to prison in 2017.&lt;ref&gt;Eberhart, Christopher J. (December 1, 2017). [https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/30/rockland-kidnap-murder-plot/911339001/ "Rockland Man Among Three Sentenced for Kidnap and Murder Plot"], ''lohud''&lt;/ref&gt;
At a news conference on September 7, 2016 following the arrests of Shimen Liebowitz and Aharon Goldberg, which were two [[rabbi]]s implicated in the [[Kiryas Joel murder conspiracy]], Bharara called it a "chilling plot," wherein the plotters "met repeatedly to plan the kidnapping and to pay more than $55,000 to an individual they believed would carry it out."<ref name="Orthodox Jewish">Gajanan, Mahita (September 7, 2016). [https://time.com/4483189/orthodox-jewish-men-arrested-kidnap-murder-plot/ "Rabbi and Orthodox Jewish Man Plotted to Kidnap and Murder Husband to Get Divorce for his Wife, Officials Say"], ''Time''</ref><ref>(September 7, 2016). [https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-arrest-rabbi-and-member-satmar-community-conspiring "Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Arrest of Rabbi and Member of Satmar Community for Conspiring to Kidnap and Murder"], ''United States Department of Justice''</ref> The rabbis were convicted and sentenced to prison in 2017.<ref>Eberhart, Christopher J. (December 1, 2017). [https://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/30/rockland-kidnap-murder-plot/911339001/ "Rockland Man Among Three Sentenced for Kidnap and Murder Plot"], ''lohud''</ref>


=== Terrorism prosecutions ===
=== Terrorism prosecutions ===
Under Bharara, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York "won a string of major terrorism trials."&lt;ref name="WeiserProtess"&gt;{{cite news|last1=Weiser|first1=Benjamin|last2=Protess|first2=Ben|title=In Five Years, a Federal Prosecutor Has Taken On Terrorism, Corruption and Cuomo|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/nyregion/in-five-years-in-office-us-prosecutor-touches-new-yorks-biggest-story-lines.html|access-date=30 March 2017|work=The New York Times|date=August 19, 2014|page=A17}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara was an advocate of trying terrorists in civilian federal courts rather than in the [[Guantanamo military commissions|military commissions]] at the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]. He contrasted his office's record of successfully convicting terrorists with the lengthy, secretive, and inefficient Guantanamo practice.&lt;ref name="WeiserProtess"/&gt; In a 2014 interview, Bharara said the historical record would show that "greater transparency and openness and legitimacy" leads to "more serious and appropriate punishment."&lt;ref name="WeiserProtess"/&gt; Citing his success in terrorism trials, Bharara stated: "These trials have been difficult, but they have been fair and open and prompt...in an American civilian courtroom, the American people and all the victims of terrorism can be vindicated without sacrificing our principles."&lt;ref name="MostafaConvicted"&gt;Benjamin Wesier, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/nyregion/british-cleric-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-terror-case.html Life Sentence for British Cleric Who Helped Plan 1998 Kidnappings in Yemen], ''The New York Times'' (January 9, 2015).&lt;/ref&gt;
Under Bharara, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York "won a string of major terrorism trials."<ref name="WeiserProtess">{{cite news|last1=Weiser|first1=Benjamin|last2=Protess|first2=Ben|title=In Five Years, a Federal Prosecutor Has Taken On Terrorism, Corruption and Cuomo|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/nyregion/in-five-years-in-office-us-prosecutor-touches-new-yorks-biggest-story-lines.html|access-date=30 March 2017|work=The New York Times|date=August 19, 2014|page=A17}}</ref> Bharara was an advocate of trying terrorists in civilian federal courts rather than in the [[Guantanamo military commissions|military commissions]] at the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]. He contrasted his office's record of successfully convicting terrorists with the lengthy, secretive, and inefficient Guantanamo practice.<ref name="WeiserProtess"/> In a 2014 interview, Bharara said the historical record would show that "greater transparency and openness and legitimacy" leads to "more serious and appropriate punishment."<ref name="WeiserProtess"/> Citing his success in terrorism trials, Bharara stated: "These trials have been difficult, but they have been fair and open and prompt...in an American civilian courtroom, the American people and all the victims of terrorism can be vindicated without sacrificing our principles."<ref name="MostafaConvicted">Benjamin Wesier, [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/nyregion/british-cleric-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-terror-case.html Life Sentence for British Cleric Who Helped Plan 1998 Kidnappings in Yemen], ''The New York Times'' (January 9, 2015).</ref>


Some of the high-profile terrorist figures convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment during Bharara's term include [[Sulaiman Abu Ghaith]], Osama bin Laden's son-in-law;&lt;ref&gt;Benjamin Weiser, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/nyregion/abu-ghaith-a-bin-laden-adviser-is-sentenced-to-life-in-prison.html Abu Ghaith, a Bin Laden Adviser, Is Sentenced to Life in Prison], ''The New York Times'' (September 23, 2014).&lt;/ref&gt; They also included [[Khalid al-Fawwaz]] and [[Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani]], Osama bin Laden aides who plotted the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]] that killed 224 people;&lt;ref&gt;Denis Slattery, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/preet-bharara-nailed-criminals-dirty-pols-terrorists-article-1.2994834 Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has nailed countless criminals from thieving politicians to terrorists], ''New York Daily News'' (March 10, 2017).&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Joseph Ax, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-fawwaz-idUSKBN0O01LF20150515 Saudi man gets life in U.S. prison for ties to Africa embassy bombings], Reuters (May 15, 2015).&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;David Ariosto, [http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/25/new.york.guantanamo.sentencing/ Guantanamo detainee sentenced to life for Africa bombings], CNN (January 25, 2011).&lt;/ref&gt; [[Abu Hamza al-Masri|Mostafa Kamel Mostafa]], a cleric who masterminded the 1998 kidnappings of 16 American, British and Australian tourists in Yemen;&lt;ref name="MostafaConvicted"/&gt; and [[Faisal Shahzad]], the [[2010 Times Square car bombing attempt|attempted Times Square bomber]].&lt;ref name="SullivanHosenball"&gt;Andy Sullivan &amp; Mark Hosenball, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-justice-idUSKBN16I0PZ Top U.S. prosecutor says he is fired by Trump administration], Reuters (March 11, 2017).&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara also won a massive conviction and 25-year sentence for international arms smuggler [[Viktor Bout]].&lt;ref name="SullivanHosenball"/&gt;
Some of the high-profile terrorist figures convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment during Bharara's term include [[Sulaiman Abu Ghaith]], Osama bin Laden's son-in-law;<ref>Benjamin Weiser, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/nyregion/abu-ghaith-a-bin-laden-adviser-is-sentenced-to-life-in-prison.html Abu Ghaith, a Bin Laden Adviser, Is Sentenced to Life in Prison], ''The New York Times'' (September 23, 2014).</ref> They also included [[Khalid al-Fawwaz]] and [[Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani]], Osama bin Laden aides who plotted the [[1998 United States embassy bombings]] that killed 224 people;<ref>Denis Slattery, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/preet-bharara-nailed-criminals-dirty-pols-terrorists-article-1.2994834 Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has nailed countless criminals from thieving politicians to terrorists], ''New York Daily News'' (March 10, 2017).</ref><ref>Joseph Ax, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-fawwaz-idUSKBN0O01LF20150515 Saudi man gets life in U.S. prison for ties to Africa embassy bombings], Reuters (May 15, 2015).</ref><ref>David Ariosto, [http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/25/new.york.guantanamo.sentencing/ Guantanamo detainee sentenced to life for Africa bombings], CNN (January 25, 2011).</ref> [[Abu Hamza al-Masri|Mostafa Kamel Mostafa]], a cleric who masterminded the 1998 kidnappings of 16 American, British and Australian tourists in Yemen;<ref name="MostafaConvicted"/> and [[Faisal Shahzad]], the [[2010 Times Square car bombing attempt|attempted Times Square bomber]].<ref name="SullivanHosenball">Andy Sullivan & Mark Hosenball, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-justice-idUSKBN16I0PZ Top U.S. prosecutor says he is fired by Trump administration], Reuters (March 11, 2017).</ref> Bharara also won a massive conviction and 25-year sentence for international arms smuggler [[Viktor Bout]].<ref name="SullivanHosenball"/>


=== Cybercrime ===
=== Cybercrime ===
In June 2012, ''[[The New York Times]]'' published an op-ed written by Bharara about the threat posed to private industry by [[cybercrime]] and encouraged corporate leaders to take preventive measures and create [[contingency plan]]s.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|last=Bharara|first=Preet|title=Asleep at the Laptop|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/opinion/preventing-a-cybercrime-wave.html?_r=1|access-date=June 4, 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 4, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In June 2012, ''[[The New York Times]]'' published an op-ed written by Bharara about the threat posed to private industry by [[cybercrime]] and encouraged corporate leaders to take preventive measures and create [[contingency plan]]s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bharara|first=Preet|title=Asleep at the Laptop|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/opinion/preventing-a-cybercrime-wave.html?_r=1|access-date=June 4, 2012|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 4, 2012}}</ref>


Bharara's tenure saw a number of notable prosecutions for [[Security hacker|computer hacking]]:
Bharara's tenure saw a number of notable prosecutions for [[Security hacker|computer hacking]]:
*Bharara's office worked with [[Hector Xavier Monsegur]] ("Sabu"), a computer hacker who later became a federal informant. Because Monsegur's cooperation "helped the authorities infiltrate the shadowy world of computer hacking and disrupt at least 300 cyberattacks on targets that included the United States military," Bharara's office recommended a greatly reduced sentence to the judge, and in 2014 Monsegur was freed with only some of the [[time served]].&lt;ref&gt;Benjamin Weiser, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/nyregion/hacker-who-helped-disrupt-cyberattacks-is-allowed-to-walk-free.html Hacker Who Helped Disrupt Cyberattacks Is Allowed to Walk Free], ''The New York Times'' (May 27, 2014).&lt;/ref&gt;
*Bharara's office worked with [[Hector Xavier Monsegur]] ("Sabu"), a computer hacker who later became a federal informant. Because Monsegur's cooperation "helped the authorities infiltrate the shadowy world of computer hacking and disrupt at least 300 cyberattacks on targets that included the United States military," Bharara's office recommended a greatly reduced sentence to the judge, and in 2014 Monsegur was freed with only some of the [[time served]].<ref>Benjamin Weiser, [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/28/nyregion/hacker-who-helped-disrupt-cyberattacks-is-allowed-to-walk-free.html Hacker Who Helped Disrupt Cyberattacks Is Allowed to Walk Free], ''The New York Times'' (May 27, 2014).</ref>
*In May 2014, Bharara's office was part of an international crackdown, led by the FBI and authorities in 19 countries, on the "[[Blackshades]]" [[creepware]] hacking, in which hackers illicitly access users' systems remotely to steal information.&lt;ref&gt;Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz &amp; Tom Cohen, [http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/19/justice/us-global-hacker-crackdown/ More than 90 people nabbed in global hacker crackdown], CNN (May 19, 2014).&lt;/ref&gt;
*In May 2014, Bharara's office was part of an international crackdown, led by the FBI and authorities in 19 countries, on the "[[Blackshades]]" [[creepware]] hacking, in which hackers illicitly access users' systems remotely to steal information.<ref>Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz & Tom Cohen, [http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/19/justice/us-global-hacker-crackdown/ More than 90 people nabbed in global hacker crackdown], CNN (May 19, 2014).</ref>
*In November 2015, Bharara's office charged three Israeli men in a 23-count indictment that alleged that they ran an extensive computer hacking and fraud scheme that targeted [[JPMorgan Chase]], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', and ten other companies. According to prosecutors, the operation generated "hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal profit" and exposed the personal information of more than 100 million people.&lt;ref&gt;Jonathan Stempel &amp; Nate Raymond, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hacking-indictment-idUSKCN0SZ1VM20151110 U.S. charges three in huge cyberfraud targeting JPMorgan, others], Reuters (November 10, 2015).&lt;/ref&gt;
*In November 2015, Bharara's office charged three Israeli men in a 23-count indictment that alleged that they ran an extensive computer hacking and fraud scheme that targeted [[JPMorgan Chase]], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', and ten other companies. According to prosecutors, the operation generated "hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal profit" and exposed the personal information of more than 100 million people.<ref>Jonathan Stempel & Nate Raymond, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hacking-indictment-idUSKCN0SZ1VM20151110 U.S. charges three in huge cyberfraud targeting JPMorgan, others], Reuters (November 10, 2015).</ref>
*In May 2016, Bharara's office secured a guilty plea from Alonzo Knowles, a [[Bahamas|Bahamian]] man who had hacked into the email accounts of celebrities and athletes in order to steal unreleased movie and television scripts, unreleased music, "nude and intimate images and videos," financial documents, and other personal and sensitive information. Knowles was sentenced to five years in prison.&lt;ref&gt;Benjamin Weiser, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/nyregion/alonzo-knowles-celebrity-hacker.html Man Who Hacked Celebrities' Email Accounts Gets 5 Years in Prison], ''The New York Times'' (December 6, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt;
*In May 2016, Bharara's office secured a guilty plea from Alonzo Knowles, a [[Bahamas|Bahamian]] man who had hacked into the email accounts of celebrities and athletes in order to steal unreleased movie and television scripts, unreleased music, "nude and intimate images and videos," financial documents, and other personal and sensitive information. Knowles was sentenced to five years in prison.<ref>Benjamin Weiser, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/nyregion/alonzo-knowles-celebrity-hacker.html Man Who Hacked Celebrities' Email Accounts Gets 5 Years in Prison], ''The New York Times'' (December 6, 2016).</ref>
*In November 2016, Bharara's office filed charges against a [[Phoenix, Arizona]] man, Jonathan Powell, for hacking into thousands of email accounts at [[Pace University]] and another university and mining those accounts for users' confidential information.&lt;ref&gt;Nate Raymond, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-universities-idUSKBN12X2MG Arizona man arrested for hacking email accounts at universities], Reuters (November 2, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt;
*In November 2016, Bharara's office filed charges against a [[Phoenix, Arizona]] man, Jonathan Powell, for hacking into thousands of email accounts at [[Pace University]] and another university and mining those accounts for users' confidential information.<ref>Nate Raymond, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-universities-idUSKBN12X2MG Arizona man arrested for hacking email accounts at universities], Reuters (November 2, 2016).</ref>
*In December 2016, Bharara's office charged three Chinese citizens with hacking into the system of New York law firms advising on [[mergers and acquisitions]], and making more than $4 million by trading on information they gained.&lt;ref&gt;Leslie Picker, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/business/dealbook/new-york-hacking-law-firms-insider-trading.html 3 Men Made Millions by Hacking Merger Lawyers, U.S. Says], ''The New York Times'' (December 27, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt;
*In December 2016, Bharara's office charged three Chinese citizens with hacking into the system of New York law firms advising on [[mergers and acquisitions]], and making more than $4 million by trading on information they gained.<ref>Leslie Picker, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/27/business/dealbook/new-york-hacking-law-firms-insider-trading.html 3 Men Made Millions by Hacking Merger Lawyers, U.S. Says], ''The New York Times'' (December 27, 2016).</ref>
*Also in December 2016, Bharara's office charged an executive of the Pakistani-based company [[Axact]] with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated [[identity theft]] in connection. Prosecutors say that the company carried out a $140 million [[diploma mill]] that defrauded thousands of consumers across the world.&lt;ref&gt;Rezaul H. Laskar, [http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-attorney-bharara-charges-pakistani-man-in-140-mn-fake-diploma-mill-scam/story-itjEXigyi6qYVXZaG3RasO.html US attorney Bharara charges Pakistani man in $140-mn fake diploma mill scam], ''Hindustan Times'' (December 22, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt;
*Also in December 2016, Bharara's office charged an executive of the Pakistani-based company [[Axact]] with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated [[identity theft]] in connection. Prosecutors say that the company carried out a $140 million [[diploma mill]] that defrauded thousands of consumers across the world.<ref>Rezaul H. Laskar, [http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-attorney-bharara-charges-pakistani-man-in-140-mn-fake-diploma-mill-scam/story-itjEXigyi6qYVXZaG3RasO.html US attorney Bharara charges Pakistani man in $140-mn fake diploma mill scam], ''Hindustan Times'' (December 22, 2016).</ref>


Bharara moved to shut down several of the world's largest [[Internet poker]] companies.&lt;ref&gt;Nathan Vardi, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2011/04/15/founders-of-worlds-biggest-online-poker-companies-indicted/#7fe3032aaca9 U.S. Government Moves To Shut Down World's Biggest Online Poker Companies], ''Forbes'' (April 15, 2011).&lt;/ref&gt; He prosecuted several payment processors for Internet poker companies. He effectively secured guilty pleas for [[money laundering]].&lt;ref&gt;[https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2012/payment-processor-for-internet-poker-companies-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-bank-fraud-money-laundering-and-gambling-offenses Payment Processor for Internet Poker Companies Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Bank Fraud, Money Laundering, and Gambling Offenses] (press release), U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (February 28, 2012)&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;[https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2012/payment-processor-for-online-poker-companies-pleads-guilty-to-laundering-internet-poker-funds Payment Processor for Online Poker Companies Pleads Guilty to Laundering Internet Poker Funds] (press release), U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (January 12, 2012)&lt;/ref&gt; In April 2011, Bharara charged 11 founding members of internet gambling companies and their associates involved with pay processing with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling under the [[Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006]] (UIGEA). The case is ''[[United States v. Scheinberg]]''.&lt;ref name=bloomberg_20110415&gt;{{cite news | last1=Hurtado | first1=Patricia | last2=Van Voris |first2=Bob | title=Eleven Charged in Manhattan for Fraud in Online-Gambling Money Laundering | work=Bloomberg | date=April 15, 2011 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-15/internet-poker-entrepreneurs-charged-with-fraud-money-laundering-by-u-s-.html | access-date=April 26, 2011}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara moved to shut down several of the world's largest [[Internet poker]] companies.<ref>Nathan Vardi, [https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2011/04/15/founders-of-worlds-biggest-online-poker-companies-indicted/#7fe3032aaca9 U.S. Government Moves To Shut Down World's Biggest Online Poker Companies], ''Forbes'' (April 15, 2011).</ref> He prosecuted several payment processors for Internet poker companies. He effectively secured guilty pleas for [[money laundering]].<ref>[https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2012/payment-processor-for-internet-poker-companies-pleads-guilty-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-bank-fraud-money-laundering-and-gambling-offenses Payment Processor for Internet Poker Companies Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Bank Fraud, Money Laundering, and Gambling Offenses] (press release), U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (February 28, 2012)</ref><ref>[https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/newyork/press-releases/2012/payment-processor-for-online-poker-companies-pleads-guilty-to-laundering-internet-poker-funds Payment Processor for Online Poker Companies Pleads Guilty to Laundering Internet Poker Funds] (press release), U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (January 12, 2012)</ref> In April 2011, Bharara charged 11 founding members of internet gambling companies and their associates involved with pay processing with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling under the [[Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006]] (UIGEA). The case is ''[[United States v. Scheinberg]]''.<ref name=bloomberg_20110415>{{cite news | last1=Hurtado | first1=Patricia | last2=Van Voris |first2=Bob | title=Eleven Charged in Manhattan for Fraud in Online-Gambling Money Laundering | work=Bloomberg | date=April 15, 2011 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-15/internet-poker-entrepreneurs-charged-with-fraud-money-laundering-by-u-s-.html | access-date=April 26, 2011}}</ref>


=== Devyani Khobragade incident ===
=== Devyani Khobragade incident ===
{{main|Devyani Khobragade incident}}
{{main|Devyani Khobragade incident}}
Bharara and his office came to the limelight again in December 2013 with the arrest of [[Devyani Khobragade]], the Deputy Consul General of India in New York, who was accused by prosecutors of submitting false work visa documents for her housekeeper and paying the housekeeper "far less than the [[Minimum wage in the United States|minimum legal wage]]."&lt;ref name="Harris"&gt;{{cite news|author=Gardiner Harris|title=Outrage in India, and Retaliation, Over a Female Diplomat's Arrest in New York|date=December 17, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/world/asia/outrage-in-india-over-female-diplomats-arrest-in-new-york.html|newspaper=The New York Times}}&lt;/ref&gt; The ensuing incident caused protests from the Indian government and a rift in [[India–United States relations]]; Indians expressed outrage that Khobragade was strip-searched (a routine practice for all [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]] arrestees) and held in the general inmate population.&lt;ref name="Harris"/&gt; The Indian government retaliated for what it viewed as the mistreatment of its consular official by revoking the ID cards and other privileges of U.S. consular personnel and their families in India and removing security barriers in front of the [[U.S. Embassy in New Delhi]].&lt;ref name=DB4&gt;{{cite news|title=India removes U.S. Embassy security barriers in spat|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-india-diplomat-idUSBRE9BG1A820131218|access-date=December 29, 2013|work=Reuters|date=December 18, 2013}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara and his office came to the limelight again in December 2013 with the arrest of [[Devyani Khobragade]], the Deputy Consul General of India in New York, who was accused by prosecutors of submitting false work visa documents for her housekeeper and paying the housekeeper "far less than the [[Minimum wage in the United States|minimum legal wage]]."<ref name="Harris">{{cite news|author=Gardiner Harris|title=Outrage in India, and Retaliation, Over a Female Diplomat's Arrest in New York|date=December 17, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/world/asia/outrage-in-india-over-female-diplomats-arrest-in-new-york.html|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> The ensuing incident caused protests from the Indian government and a rift in [[India–United States relations]]; Indians expressed outrage that Khobragade was strip-searched (a routine practice for all [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshals Service]] arrestees) and held in the general inmate population.<ref name="Harris"/> The Indian government retaliated for what it viewed as the mistreatment of its consular official by revoking the ID cards and other privileges of U.S. consular personnel and their families in India and removing security barriers in front of the [[U.S. Embassy in New Delhi]].<ref name=DB4>{{cite news|title=India removes U.S. Embassy security barriers in spat|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-india-diplomat-idUSBRE9BG1A820131218|access-date=December 29, 2013|work=Reuters|date=December 18, 2013}}</ref>


Khobragade was subject to prosecution at the time of her arrest because she had only [[consular immunity]] (this which gives one [[immunity from prosecution]] only for acts committed in connection with official duties) and not the more extensive [[diplomatic immunity]].&lt;ref name="Harris"/&gt;&lt;ref name="McKelvey"&gt;Tara McKelvey, [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-25458531 Who, What, Why: Does Devyani Khobragade have diplomatic immunity?], BBC News (December 19, 2013).&lt;/ref&gt; After her arrest, the Indian government moved Khobragade to the Indian's mission to the U.N., upgrading her status and conferring diplomatic immunity on her; as a result, the federal indictment against Khobragade was dismissed in March 2014, although the door was left open to refiling of charges.&lt;ref&gt;Jonathan Stempel &amp; Shyamantha Asokan, [https://www.reuters.com/article/india-usa-diplomat-idINL2N0M92BW20140313 Update 3 – Indian diplomat in U.S. row wins indictment dismissal], Reuters (March 13, 2014).&lt;/ref&gt; A new indictment was filed against Khobragade, but by that point she had left the country.&lt;ref&gt;[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/new-indictment-filed-against-indian-diplomat-devyani-khobragade-in-us-visa-fraud-case/2014/03/14/0074dd80-abb0-11e3-adbc-888c8010c799_story.html New indictment filed against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in U.S. visa-fraud case], ''Washington Post'' (March 14, 2014).&lt;/ref&gt;
Khobragade was subject to prosecution at the time of her arrest because she had only [[consular immunity]] (this which gives one [[immunity from prosecution]] only for acts committed in connection with official duties) and not the more extensive [[diplomatic immunity]].<ref name="Harris"/><ref name="McKelvey">Tara McKelvey, [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-25458531 Who, What, Why: Does Devyani Khobragade have diplomatic immunity?], BBC News (December 19, 2013).</ref> After her arrest, the Indian government moved Khobragade to the Indian's mission to the U.N., upgrading her status and conferring diplomatic immunity on her; as a result, the federal indictment against Khobragade was dismissed in March 2014, although the door was left open to refiling of charges.<ref>Jonathan Stempel & Shyamantha Asokan, [https://www.reuters.com/article/india-usa-diplomat-idINL2N0M92BW20140313 Update 3 – Indian diplomat in U.S. row wins indictment dismissal], Reuters (March 13, 2014).</ref> A new indictment was filed against Khobragade, but by that point she had left the country.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/new-indictment-filed-against-indian-diplomat-devyani-khobragade-in-us-visa-fraud-case/2014/03/14/0074dd80-abb0-11e3-adbc-888c8010c799_story.html New indictment filed against Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in U.S. visa-fraud case], ''Washington Post'' (March 14, 2014).</ref>


Speaking at [[Harvard Law School]] during its 2014 Class Day ceremony, Bharara said that it was the [[U.S. Department of State]], rather than his office that initiated and investigated proceedings against Khobragade and who asked his office to prosecute.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news| url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/preet-bharara-talks-khobragade-case-at-harvard-law-school-195294-2014-06-01|title=Preet Bharara talks Khobragade case at Harvard Law School| publisher=India Today| date=June 1, 2014}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news| url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/bharara-talks-khobragade-case-114060100160_1.html|title=Bharara talks Khobragade case| publisher=Business Standard &amp; Press Trust of India| date=June 2, 2014}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news| url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/bharara-says-upset-by-criticism/|title=Bharara says upset by criticism| publisher=Indian Express| date=June 1, 2014}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Speaking at [[Harvard Law School]] during its 2014 Class Day ceremony, Bharara said that it was the [[U.S. Department of State]], rather than his office that initiated and investigated proceedings against Khobragade and who asked his office to prosecute.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/preet-bharara-talks-khobragade-case-at-harvard-law-school-195294-2014-06-01|title=Preet Bharara talks Khobragade case at Harvard Law School| publisher=India Today| date=June 1, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/bharara-talks-khobragade-case-114060100160_1.html|title=Bharara talks Khobragade case| publisher=Business Standard &amp; Press Trust of India| date=June 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/bharara-says-upset-by-criticism/|title=Bharara says upset by criticism| publisher=Indian Express| date=June 1, 2014}}</ref>


=== ''Reason'' magazine subpoena ===
=== ''Reason'' magazine subpoena ===
During Bharara's term, the U.S. Attorney's Office investigated six Internet comments made on the website of ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' magazine in which anonymous readers made comments about U.S. District Judge [[Katherine B. Forrest]] of the [[Southern District of New York]] like "Its [sic] judges like these that should be taken out back and shot" and "Why waste ammunition? Wood chippers get the message across clearly." (The comments were made under an article in the magazine of Forrest's sentencing of [[Silk Road (marketplace)|Silk Road]] owner [[Ross William Ulbricht]] to life in prison without parole.) In June 2015, a [[federal grand jury]] issued a subpoena to the [[libertarian]] magazine, demanding that it provide identifying information for the commenters.&lt;ref name="WSJ"&gt;{{cite news| url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/06/09/reason-magazine-subpoenaed-over-reader-comments-on-silk-road-judge/|title=Reason magazine subpoenaed over reader comments on Silk Road judge|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal| date=June 9, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name="DB5"&gt;{{cite news| url=http://reason.com/blog/2015/06/19/government-stifles-speech|title=How Government Stifled Reason's Free Speech| publisher=Reason| date=June 19, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt; Following the issuance of the subpoena, federal prosecutors applied for an order from a [[U.S. magistrate judge]] forbidding the magazine from disclosing the existence of the subpoena to the commenters.&lt;ref name="DB5"/&gt;
During Bharara's term, the U.S. Attorney's Office investigated six Internet comments made on the website of ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'' magazine in which anonymous readers made comments about U.S. District Judge [[Katherine B. Forrest]] of the [[Southern District of New York]] like "Its [sic] judges like these that should be taken out back and shot" and "Why waste ammunition? Wood chippers get the message across clearly." (The comments were made under an article in the magazine of Forrest's sentencing of [[Silk Road (marketplace)|Silk Road]] owner [[Ross William Ulbricht]] to life in prison without parole.) In June 2015, a [[federal grand jury]] issued a subpoena to the [[libertarian]] magazine, demanding that it provide identifying information for the commenters.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news| url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2015/06/09/reason-magazine-subpoenaed-over-reader-comments-on-silk-road-judge/|title=Reason magazine subpoenaed over reader comments on Silk Road judge|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal| date=June 9, 2015}}</ref><ref name="DB5">{{cite news| url=http://reason.com/blog/2015/06/19/government-stifles-speech|title=How Government Stifled Reason's Free Speech| publisher=Reason| date=June 19, 2015}}</ref> Following the issuance of the subpoena, federal prosecutors applied for an order from a [[U.S. magistrate judge]] forbidding the magazine from disclosing the existence of the subpoena to the commenters.<ref name="DB5"/>


The subpoena became public after being obtained by [[Popehat]]'s Ken White.&lt;ref name="WSJ"/&gt; The nondisclosure order caused controversy, with critics saying that it infringed the constitutional right to free speech&lt;ref name="Clifford"&gt;Stephanie Clifford, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/nyregion/prosecutorssecrecy-orders-on-subpoenas-stir-constitutional-questions.html Prosecutors' Secrecy Orders on Subpoenas Stir Constitutional Questions], ''The New York Times'' (January 1, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt; and questioning whether the comments were actually serious threats or merely hyperbolic "[[Internet trolling|trolling]]."&lt;ref&gt;
The subpoena became public after being obtained by [[Popehat]]'s Ken White.<ref name="WSJ"/> The nondisclosure order caused controversy, with critics saying that it infringed the constitutional right to free speech<ref name="Clifford">Stephanie Clifford, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/01/nyregion/prosecutorssecrecy-orders-on-subpoenas-stir-constitutional-questions.html Prosecutors' Secrecy Orders on Subpoenas Stir Constitutional Questions], ''The New York Times'' (January 1, 2016).</ref> and questioning whether the comments were actually serious threats or merely hyperbolic "[[Internet trolling|trolling]]."<ref>
*{{cite news| url=http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-06-09/reason-magazine-subpoena-stomps-on-free-speech|title=Reason Magazine Subpoena Stomps on Free Speech| publisher=Bloomberg View| date=June 9, 2015}}
*{{cite news| url=http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-06-09/reason-magazine-subpoena-stomps-on-free-speech|title=Reason Magazine Subpoena Stomps on Free Speech| publisher=Bloomberg View| date=June 9, 2015}}
*{{cite news|last1=Welch|first1=Matt|title=There's a special place for those who quash hyperbole in online comments|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-welch-reason-magazine-gag-order-20150628-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=27 June 2015}}
*{{cite news|last1=Welch|first1=Matt|title=There's a special place for those who quash hyperbole in online comments|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-welch-reason-magazine-gag-order-20150628-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=27 June 2015}}
*{{cite news|title=Glenn Reynolds: U.S. attorney chills Reason-able speech|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/06/21/reason-magazine-free-speech-suppression-column/29070279/|work=USA Today|language=en}}
*{{cite news|title=Glenn Reynolds: U.S. attorney chills Reason-able speech|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/06/21/reason-magazine-free-speech-suppression-column/29070279/|work=USA Today|language=en}}
*{{cite news| url=https://www.wired.com/2015/06/feds-want-id-web-trolls-threatened-silk-road-judge/|title=Feds Want to ID Web Trolls Who 'Threatened' Silk Road Judge| publisher=Wired| date=June 8, 2015}}&lt;/ref&gt; Federal prosecutors dropped the matter as moot.&lt;ref name="Clifford"/&gt; ''Reason'' magazine editors [[Matt Welch]] and [[Nick Gillespie]] characterized the subpoena and nondisclosure order as "suppressing the speech of journalistic outlets known to be critical of government overreach."&lt;ref name="DB5"/&gt;
*{{cite news| url=https://www.wired.com/2015/06/feds-want-id-web-trolls-threatened-silk-road-judge/|title=Feds Want to ID Web Trolls Who 'Threatened' Silk Road Judge| publisher=Wired| date=June 8, 2015}}</ref> Federal prosecutors dropped the matter as moot.<ref name="Clifford"/> ''Reason'' magazine editors [[Matt Welch]] and [[Nick Gillespie]] characterized the subpoena and nondisclosure order as "suppressing the speech of journalistic outlets known to be critical of government overreach."<ref name="DB5"/>


=== Dismissal ===
=== Dismissal ===
{{See also|2017 dismissal of U.S. attorneys}}
{{See also|2017 dismissal of U.S. attorneys}}


Following the [[United States presidential election|2016 election]], Bharara met with then-[[President elect of the United States|president-elect]] [[Donald Trump]] at [[Trump Tower]] in November 2016.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2016/11/30/donald-trump-to-meet-with-preet-bharara/|title=Donald Trump to meet with Preet Bharara|last1=Schram|first1=Jamie|last2=Whitehouse|first2=Kaja|date=November 30, 2016|newspaper=[[New York Post]]|access-date=March 13, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara said that Trump asked him to remain as U.S. Attorney, and he agreed to stay on.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|author=Victoria Bekiempis &amp; Adam Edelman|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-meet-manhattan-attorney-preet-bharara-source-article-1.2892952|title=Preet Bharara will stay on as US Attorney at Trump's request|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=November 30, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Matthew Nussbaum, [https://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/11/manhattan-us-attorney-preet-bharara-to-meet-trump-232003 Trump opts to keep Preet Bharara as U.S. attorney for Manhattan], ''Politico'' (November 30, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt;
Following the [[United States presidential election|2016 election]], Bharara met with then-[[President elect of the United States|president-elect]] [[Donald Trump]] at [[Trump Tower]] in November 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2016/11/30/donald-trump-to-meet-with-preet-bharara/|title=Donald Trump to meet with Preet Bharara|last1=Schram|first1=Jamie|last2=Whitehouse|first2=Kaja|date=November 30, 2016|newspaper=[[New York Post]]|access-date=March 13, 2017}}</ref> Bharara said that Trump asked him to remain as U.S. Attorney, and he agreed to stay on.<ref>{{cite web|author=Victoria Bekiempis &amp; Adam Edelman|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-meet-manhattan-attorney-preet-bharara-source-article-1.2892952|title=Preet Bharara will stay on as US Attorney at Trump's request|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=November 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>Matthew Nussbaum, [https://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/11/manhattan-us-attorney-preet-bharara-to-meet-trump-232003 Trump opts to keep Preet Bharara as U.S. attorney for Manhattan], ''Politico'' (November 30, 2016).</ref>


On March 10, 2017, [[U.S. Attorney General]] [[Jeff Sessions]] ordered all 46 remaining [[United States Attorney]]s who were holdovers from the [[Obama administration]], including Bharara, to submit letters of resignation.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|author1=Kenneth Lovett |author2=Victoria Bekiempis |author3=Nancy Dillon |newspaper=New York Daily News|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ag-jeff-sessions-asks-46-u-s-attorneys-resign-article-1.2994635|title=AG Sessions seeks 46 U.S. attorney resignations including Bharara|date=March 10, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara declined to resign. He was fired the next day from Trump's administration.&lt;ref name="CNNStandoff"&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/11/politics/bharara-not-resigning/index.html|title=US Attorney Bharara fired in standoff with Trump|author1=Laura Jarrett |author2=Jake Tapper |publisher=CNN|date=March 12, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name="BuzzFired"&gt;{{Cite news |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/preet-bharara|title=Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara Fired After Refusing To Comply With Trump Admin Order To Resign |last1=Mack |first1=David |date=March 11, 2017 |work=BuzzFeed |access-date=March 11, 2017 |last2=Geidner |first2=Chris}}&lt;/ref&gt; He was succeeded by his deputy attorney, [[Joon Kim]], as acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.&lt;ref name="CNNStandoff"/&gt;&lt;ref name="BuzzFired"/&gt;
On March 10, 2017, [[U.S. Attorney General]] [[Jeff Sessions]] ordered all 46 remaining [[United States Attorney]]s who were holdovers from the [[Obama administration]], including Bharara, to submit letters of resignation.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Kenneth Lovett |author2=Victoria Bekiempis |author3=Nancy Dillon |newspaper=New York Daily News|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ag-jeff-sessions-asks-46-u-s-attorneys-resign-article-1.2994635|title=AG Sessions seeks 46 U.S. attorney resignations including Bharara|date=March 10, 2017}}</ref> Bharara declined to resign. He was fired the next day from Trump's administration.<ref name="CNNStandoff">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/11/politics/bharara-not-resigning/index.html|title=US Attorney Bharara fired in standoff with Trump|author1=Laura Jarrett |author2=Jake Tapper |publisher=CNN|date=March 12, 2017}}</ref><ref name="BuzzFired">{{Cite news |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/preet-bharara|title=Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara Fired After Refusing To Comply With Trump Admin Order To Resign |last1=Mack |first1=David |date=March 11, 2017 |work=BuzzFeed |access-date=March 11, 2017 |last2=Geidner |first2=Chris}}</ref> He was succeeded by his deputy attorney, [[Joon Kim]], as acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.<ref name="CNNStandoff"/><ref name="BuzzFired"/>


In a public statement at the time, Bharara said that serving as U.S. Attorney was "the greatest honor of my professional life" and that "one hallmark of justice is absolute independence and that was my touchstone every day that I served". There were expressions of dismay over the firing from [[Howard Dean]], U.S. Senators [[Chuck Schumer]] and [[Elizabeth Warren]], as well as from New York State Republican Assemblymen Steve McLaughlin and Brian Kolb, the Assembly Minority Leader.&lt;ref&gt;[https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-republicans-condemn-us-attorney-preet-bharara-fired/story?id=46075693 Democrats, some Republicans, condemn Preet Bharara being 'fired'], ''[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]'', David Caplan &amp; Michael Edison Hayden, Mar 12, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.&lt;/ref&gt;
In a public statement at the time, Bharara said that serving as U.S. Attorney was "the greatest honor of my professional life" and that "one hallmark of justice is absolute independence and that was my touchstone every day that I served". There were expressions of dismay over the firing from [[Howard Dean]], U.S. Senators [[Chuck Schumer]] and [[Elizabeth Warren]], as well as from New York State Republican Assemblymen Steve McLaughlin and Brian Kolb, the Assembly Minority Leader.<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-republicans-condemn-us-attorney-preet-bharara-fired/story?id=46075693 Democrats, some Republicans, condemn Preet Bharara being 'fired'], ''[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]'', David Caplan & Michael Edison Hayden, Mar 12, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.</ref>


On June 13, 2017, [[ProPublica]] reported that in the spring of 2017, Trump's personal attorney [[Marc Kasowitz]] told associates that he had been responsible for getting Bharara fired. Kasowitz reportedly had warned Trump, "This guy is going to get you."&lt;ref&gt;{{cite news|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-personal-lawyer-boasted-that-he-got-preet-bharara-fired|title=Trump's Personal Lawyer Boasted That He Got Preet Bharara Fired|last1=Eisinger|first1=Jesse|last2=Elliott|first2=Justin|date=June 13, 2017|publisher=[[ProPublica]]|access-date=June 13, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt; In September 2017, however, Bharara said a series of conversational telephone calls from Trump made him increasingly uncomfortable about the appearance of potential improper contact between his office and the Trump office.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vVk1QNTQ4OTczNDcwMg/episode/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53bnljLm9yZy9zdG9yeS90aGF0LXRpbWUtcHJlc2lkZW50LXRydW1wLWZpcmVkLW1lLWxlb24tcGFuZXR0YS8?ep=14|title=That Time President Trump Fired Me|date=September 19, 2017|via=podcasts.google.com}}&lt;/ref&gt; Bharara added that he finally refused to take a telephone call from Trump and was dismissed 22 hours later.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bharara-says-trump-phone-calls-made-him-uncomfortable/2017/06/11/53d4b090-4ebe-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html|title=Bharara says Trump phone calls made him uncomfortable|first1=Sandhya|last1=Somashekhar|first2=Jenna|last2=Johnson|date=June 11, 2017|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}&lt;/ref&gt;
On June 13, 2017, [[ProPublica]] reported that in the spring of 2017, Trump's personal attorney [[Marc Kasowitz]] told associates that he had been responsible for getting Bharara fired. Kasowitz reportedly had warned Trump, "This guy is going to get you."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-personal-lawyer-boasted-that-he-got-preet-bharara-fired|title=Trump's Personal Lawyer Boasted That He Got Preet Bharara Fired|last1=Eisinger|first1=Jesse|last2=Elliott|first2=Justin|date=June 13, 2017|publisher=[[ProPublica]]|access-date=June 13, 2017}}</ref> In September 2017, however, Bharara said a series of conversational telephone calls from Trump made him increasingly uncomfortable about the appearance of potential improper contact between his office and the Trump office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vVk1QNTQ4OTczNDcwMg/episode/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53bnljLm9yZy9zdG9yeS90aGF0LXRpbWUtcHJlc2lkZW50LXRydW1wLWZpcmVkLW1lLWxlb24tcGFuZXR0YS8?ep=14|title=That Time President Trump Fired Me|date=September 19, 2017|via=podcasts.google.com}}</ref> Bharara added that he finally refused to take a telephone call from Trump and was dismissed 22 hours later.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bharara-says-trump-phone-calls-made-him-uncomfortable/2017/06/11/53d4b090-4ebe-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html|title=Bharara says Trump phone calls made him uncomfortable|first1=Sandhya|last1=Somashekhar|first2=Jenna|last2=Johnson|date=June 11, 2017|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref>


== Later career and other endeavors ==
== Later career and other endeavors ==
On April 1, 2017, Bharara joined [[New York University School of Law]] as a distinguished scholar in residence.&lt;ref name="NYU"&gt;{{Cite news |url=http://fortune.com/2017/03/21/preet-bharara-nyu-law-school/ |title=Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney Ousted by Trump, Already Has a New Job |last=Abramson |first=Alana |magazine=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|date=March 21, 2017 | access-date=April 10, 2017}}&lt;/ref&gt;
On April 1, 2017, Bharara joined [[New York University School of Law]] as a distinguished scholar in residence.<ref name="NYU">{{Cite news |url=http://fortune.com/2017/03/21/preet-bharara-nyu-law-school/ |title=Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney Ousted by Trump, Already Has a New Job |last=Abramson |first=Alana |magazine=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|date=March 21, 2017 | access-date=April 10, 2017}}</ref>


In September 2017, Bharara started a weekly [[podcast]] called "Stay Tuned with Preet", which features long-form interviews with prominent guests.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=https://cafe.com/ss_series/stay-tuned/|title=Stay Tuned with Preet|website=cafe.com}}&lt;/ref&gt; In 2018, Bharara started a second podcast with former New Jersey Attorney General and fellow law professor [[Anne Milgram]], "Cafe Insider", which also provides legal commentary on the latest news.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.cafe.com/cafe-insider-episode1/|title=CAFE Insider, 11/9: Sessions Out. Whitaker In. What's next for Mueller? - CAFE|work=CAFE |date=November 8, 2018}}&lt;/ref&gt; After Milgram was nominated by President [[Joe Biden]] to serve as Administrator of the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]], she was replaced as co-host with former U.S. Attorney for the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama|Northern District of Alabama]] [[Joyce Vance]].&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web |last=Media |first=Vox |date=2021-04-19 |title=Joyce Vance Named Co-Host for the Cafe Insider Podcast |url=https://www.voxmedia.com/2021/4/19/22392173/joyce-vance-named-co-host-for-the-cafe-insider-podcast |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=Vox Media |language=en}}&lt;/ref&gt;
In September 2017, Bharara started a weekly [[podcast]] called "Stay Tuned with Preet", which features long-form interviews with prominent guests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cafe.com/ss_series/stay-tuned/|title=Stay Tuned with Preet|website=cafe.com}}</ref> In 2018, Bharara started a second podcast with former New Jersey Attorney General and fellow law professor [[Anne Milgram]], "Cafe Insider", which also provides legal commentary on the latest news.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cafe.com/cafe-insider-episode1/|title=CAFE Insider, 11/9: Sessions Out. Whitaker In. What's next for Mueller? - CAFE|work=CAFE |date=November 8, 2018}}</ref> After Milgram was nominated by President [[Joe Biden]] to serve as Administrator of the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]], she was replaced as co-host with former U.S. Attorney for the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama|Northern District of Alabama]] [[Joyce Vance]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Media |first=Vox |date=2021-04-19 |title=Joyce Vance Named Co-Host for the Cafe Insider Podcast |url=https://www.voxmedia.com/2021/4/19/22392173/joyce-vance-named-co-host-for-the-cafe-insider-podcast |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=Vox Media |language=en}}</ref>


Bharara was an [[executive producer]] on the [[Zeshan B]] 2024 album, ''O Say, Can You See?''.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web |last=Aswad |first=Jem |date=2024-06-10 |title=Singer Zeshan B and Preet Bharara: Meet the Odd Couple Behind a New Album That Combines Classic R&amp;B, Social Justice and Urdu Music |url=https://variety.com/2024/music/news/zeshan-preet-bharara-album-1236029217/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara was an [[executive producer]] on the [[Zeshan B]] 2024 album, ''O Say, Can You See?''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aswad |first=Jem |date=2024-06-10 |title=Singer Zeshan B and Preet Bharara: Meet the Odd Couple Behind a New Album That Combines Classic R&amp;B, Social Justice and Urdu Music |url=https://variety.com/2024/music/news/zeshan-preet-bharara-album-1236029217/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>


As of 2025, Bharara is a partner at the [[Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr|WilmerHale]] law firm.&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2025/05/09/wilmers-preet-bharara-billing-400-per-hour-for-nj-ag-investigation/?slreturn=20250518105821|title=Wilmer's Preet Bharara Billing $400 Per Hour for NJ AG Investigation|website=New Jersey Law Journal|last=O'Brien|first=Amanda|date=May 9, 2025}}&lt;/ref&gt;
As of 2025, Bharara is a partner at the [[Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr|WilmerHale]] law firm.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2025/05/09/wilmers-preet-bharara-billing-400-per-hour-for-nj-ag-investigation/?slreturn=20250518105821|title=Wilmer's Preet Bharara Billing $400 Per Hour for NJ AG Investigation|website=New Jersey Law Journal|last=O'Brien|first=Amanda|date=May 9, 2025}}</ref>


== In popular culture ==
== In popular culture ==
The [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] television series ''[[Billions (TV show)|Billions]]'' gives a fictional portrayal of the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York's prosecution of financial crimes.&lt;ref&gt;Eric Orden, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/manhattan-u-s-attorney-preet-bhararas-office-gets-hollywood-treatment-in-showtime-series-1451947972 Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's Office Gets Hollywood Treatment in Showtime Series], ''Wall Street Journal'' (January 5, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt; The series is loosely based on the investigation of hedge fund manager [[Steve Cohen (businessman)|Steven A. Cohen]] of [[S.A.C. Capital Advisors]] by Bharara's office.&lt;ref name="CalvarioGig"&gt;Liz Calvario, [https://deadline.com/2017/03/billions-creators-react-trump-firing-preet-bharara-1202041746/ 'Billions' Creators React To Trump Firing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Offer Him Gig On Showtime Series], ''Deadline Hollywood'' (March 11, 2017).&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Joi-Marie McKenzie, [https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/billions-creators-react-firing-us-attorney-preet-bharara/story?id=46079196 'Billions' creators react to the firing of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara], ABC News (March 12, 2017).&lt;/ref&gt; The show's fictional SDNY U.S. Attorney Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr., played by [[Paul Giamatti]], was partly inspired by Bharara.&lt;ref name="CalvarioGig"/&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Cynthia Littleton, [https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/preet-bharara-donald-trump-fired-billions-1202007101/ Trump's Firing of New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Evokes 'Billions'], ''Variety'' (March 11, 2017).&lt;/ref&gt;
The [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] television series ''[[Billions (TV show)|Billions]]'' gives a fictional portrayal of the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York's prosecution of financial crimes.<ref>Eric Orden, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/manhattan-u-s-attorney-preet-bhararas-office-gets-hollywood-treatment-in-showtime-series-1451947972 Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's Office Gets Hollywood Treatment in Showtime Series], ''Wall Street Journal'' (January 5, 2016).</ref> The series is loosely based on the investigation of hedge fund manager [[Steve Cohen (businessman)|Steven A. Cohen]] of [[S.A.C. Capital Advisors]] by Bharara's office.<ref name="CalvarioGig">Liz Calvario, [https://deadline.com/2017/03/billions-creators-react-trump-firing-preet-bharara-1202041746/ 'Billions' Creators React To Trump Firing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Offer Him Gig On Showtime Series], ''Deadline Hollywood'' (March 11, 2017).</ref><ref>Joi-Marie McKenzie, [https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/billions-creators-react-firing-us-attorney-preet-bharara/story?id=46079196 'Billions' creators react to the firing of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara], ABC News (March 12, 2017).</ref> The show's fictional SDNY U.S. Attorney Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr., played by [[Paul Giamatti]], was partly inspired by Bharara.<ref name="CalvarioGig"/><ref>Cynthia Littleton, [https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/preet-bharara-donald-trump-fired-billions-1202007101/ Trump's Firing of New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Evokes 'Billions'], ''Variety'' (March 11, 2017).</ref>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
[[File:Preet Bahara 2012 Shankbone.JPG|thumb|Bharara with his wife at the [[2012 Time 100]] gala]]
[[File:Preet Bahara 2012 Shankbone.JPG|thumb|Bharara with his wife at the [[2012 Time 100]] gala]]
Bharara is married to Dalya Bharara, a non-practicing attorney. As of 2016, the Bhararas lived in [[Scarsdale, New York]] with their three children.&lt;ref&gt;Jeffrey Toobin, [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/09/the-man-who-terrifies-wall-street The Showman: How U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara struck fear into Wall Street and Albany], ''New Yorker'' (May 9, 2016).&lt;/ref&gt; In interviews, Bharara "has reflected on his family's diverse religious heritage: Sikh (his father), Hindu (his mother), Muslim (his wife's father) and Jewish (his wife's grandmother)."&lt;ref name="Altman2009"&gt;Alex Altman, Randy James &amp; M.J. Stephey, [https://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1939274,00.html 9/11 Prosecutor Preet Bharara], ''Time'' (November 13, 2009).&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara is married to Dalya Bharara, a non-practicing attorney. As of 2016, the Bhararas lived in [[Scarsdale, New York]] with their three children.<ref>Jeffrey Toobin, [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/09/the-man-who-terrifies-wall-street The Showman: How U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara struck fear into Wall Street and Albany], ''New Yorker'' (May 9, 2016).</ref> In interviews, Bharara "has reflected on his family's diverse religious heritage: Sikh (his father), Hindu (his mother), Muslim (his wife's father) and Jewish (his wife's grandmother)."<ref name="Altman2009">Alex Altman, Randy James & M.J. Stephey, [https://content.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1939274,00.html 9/11 Prosecutor Preet Bharara], ''Time'' (November 13, 2009).</ref>


Bharara is a [[Voter registration|registered]] Democrat but "not considered a strong partisan."&lt;ref name="Altman2009"/&gt;
Bharara is a [[Voter registration|registered]] Democrat but "not considered a strong partisan."<ref name="Altman2009"/>


Bharara's younger brother Vinit "Vinnie" Bharara, also a graduate of Columbia Law School, is an entrepreneur. Vinnie Bharara and [[Marc Lore]] co-founded Quidsi, the parent company of [[Diapers.com]] and Soap.com, which they sold in 2010 to [[Amazon.com]] for $540 million.&lt;ref&gt;Jason Horowitz, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/when-preet-bharara-speaks-the-shady-get-nervous/2013/04/04/07069a92-9d5d-11e2-9a79-eb5280c81c63_story.html When Preet Bharara speaks, the shady get nervous], ''Washington Post'' (April 4, 2013).&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Peter Lattiman, [https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/the-bhararas-join-an-elite-band-of-brothers/ The Fabulous Bharara Boys], ''The New York Times'' (June 9, 2011).&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara's younger brother Vinit "Vinnie" Bharara, also a graduate of Columbia Law School, is an entrepreneur. Vinnie Bharara and [[Marc Lore]] co-founded Quidsi, the parent company of [[Diapers.com]] and Soap.com, which they sold in 2010 to [[Amazon.com]] for $540 million.<ref>Jason Horowitz, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/when-preet-bharara-speaks-the-shady-get-nervous/2013/04/04/07069a92-9d5d-11e2-9a79-eb5280c81c63_story.html When Preet Bharara speaks, the shady get nervous], ''Washington Post'' (April 4, 2013).</ref><ref>Peter Lattiman, [https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/06/09/the-bhararas-join-an-elite-band-of-brothers/ The Fabulous Bharara Boys], ''The New York Times'' (June 9, 2011).</ref>


Bharara is a fan of [[Bruce Springsteen]].&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite web|url=http://cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/new-york-state-articles/preet-bharara-dishes-on-springsteen,-yankees-and-his-legal-role-models.html#.WMa6UoWcE2w|title=Preet Bharara dishes on Springsteen, Yankees and his legal role models|last=State|first=City &amp;|website=cityandstateny.com|date=September 21, 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-13}}&lt;/ref&gt; The admiration seems to be reciprocal as at an October 2012 concert in [[Hartford, Connecticut]] Springsteen shouted, "This is for Preet Bharara!" before launching into his song "[[Death to My Hometown]]".&lt;ref name="New York Times"&gt;{{cite news|last=Lattman|first=Peter|title=The Bruce-Bharara Bromance|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/the-bruce-bharara-bromance/ |access-date=November 1, 2012|work=The New York Times|date=November 1, 2012}}&lt;/ref&gt;
Bharara is a fan of [[Bruce Springsteen]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/new-york-state-articles/preet-bharara-dishes-on-springsteen,-yankees-and-his-legal-role-models.html#.WMa6UoWcE2w|title=Preet Bharara dishes on Springsteen, Yankees and his legal role models|last=State|first=City &amp;|website=cityandstateny.com|date=September 21, 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=2017-03-13}}</ref> The admiration seems to be reciprocal as at an October 2012 concert in [[Hartford, Connecticut]] Springsteen shouted, "This is for Preet Bharara!" before launching into his song "[[Death to My Hometown]]".<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|last=Lattman|first=Peter|title=The Bruce-Bharara Bromance|url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/the-bruce-bharara-bromance/ |access-date=November 1, 2012|work=The New York Times|date=November 1, 2012}}</ref>


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== Works ==
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Latest revision as of 10:35, 22 March 2026


Preet Bharara
Official portrait, 2009
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
In office
August 13, 2009 – March 11, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byMichael J. Garcia
Succeeded byJoon Kim (acting)
Personal details
Born
Preetinder Singh Bharara

(1968-10-13) October 13, 1968 (age 57)
Firozpur, Punjab, India
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Dalya Bharara
Children3
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Columbia University (JD)
Signature

Preetinder Singh Bharara (/prt bəˈrɑːrə/; born October 13, 1968) is an Indian-born American attorney and former federal prosecutor who served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017. As of 2025, he is a partner at the WilmerHale law firm.

A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School, Bharara worked as an attorney in private practice during his early career. From 2000 to 2005, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney. Bharara then worked as chief counsel to Senator Chuck Schumer from 2005 to 2009; during this time, Bharara was heavily involved in Schumer's investigation of the 2006 presidential dismissal of U.S. attorneys.

In 2009, Bharara was appointed by President Barack Obama to the position of U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. His office prosecuted the Italian mafia, convicting four out of the Five Families. Bharara similarly headed various counter-terrorism probes and cases, particularly against Al-Qaeda. His office used a variety of unconventional tactics such as wiretapping and asset seizure; he prosecuted nearly 100 Wall Street executives for insider trading and securities fraud using these legal methods. Bharara closed settlements with the four largest banks in the country and shut down multiple hedge funds. Known for his technocratic approach to prosecution, he convicted a number of Democratic and Republican politicians on public corruption charges. Bharara occasionally pursued criminals extraterritorially. Following a 2013 Russian money laundering investigation, Russian officials permanently banned him from entering Russia. The prosecution of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade by his office in 2013 led to a strain in India–United States relations. On March 11, 2017, during the administration of President Donald Trump, Bharara was dismissed after refusing to submit his resignation.

Early life, education, and early career[edit | edit source]

Bharara was born in 1968 in Firozpur, Punjab, India to a Sikh father and a Hindu mother.[1][2] He and his parents immigrated to the United States in 1970. Bharara became a U.S. citizen at age 12. He grew up in Eatontown in suburban Monmouth County, New Jersey[3] and attended Ranney School in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, where he graduated as valedictorian in 1986.[4][5]

Bharara received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1990. He then received a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School in 1993, where he was a member of the Columbia Law Review.[1]

In 1993, Bharara joined the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a litigation associate. In 1996, Bharara joined the firm of Shereff, Friedman, Hoffman & Goodman, where he did white-collar defense work.[6] He was an assistant United States Attorney in Manhattan for five years, from 2000 to 2005, bringing criminal cases against the bosses of the Gambino crime family, Colombo crime family, and Asian gangs in New York City.[7][8][9] From 2005 to 2009, Bharara served as chief counsel to Senator Chuck Schumer[10] and played a leading role in the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary investigation into the firings of United States attorneys.[7]

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York[edit | edit source]

Bharara was nominated to become U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York by President Barack Obama on May 15, 2009, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. His nomination to the post was welcomed across the political spectrum, as he was regarded as an "apolitical and fair-minded" figure.[11] Bharara was sworn in as U.S. Attorney on August 13, 2009.[12][13]

During his time as U.S. Attorney, Bharara was named India Abroad's 2011 Person of the Year.[14] In 2012, he was named as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World" by Time.[15] Bharara was also included in Bloomberg Markets Magazine's 2012 "50 Most Influential" list as well as Vanity Fair's 2012 and 2013 annual "New Establishment" lists.[16][17][18]

International investigations[edit | edit source]

Bharara (right) waits with Attorney General Eric Holder to announce charges related to the 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot

Bharara's office sent out agents to more than 25 countries to investigate suspects of arms and narcotics trafficking and terrorists, and to bring them to Manhattan to face charges. One case involved Viktor Bout. Bout was an arms trafficker, who lived in Moscow and had a deal involving selling arms to Colombian terrorists. Bharara argued that this aggressive approach was necessary in post 9/11 era. Defense lawyers criticized the stings, calling Bharara's office "the Southern District of the World". They also argued that American citizens would not appreciate being treated similarly by other countries.[19]

Actions against financial crime[edit | edit source]

Insider trading[edit | edit source]

In 2012, Bharara was featured on a cover of Time magazine entitled "This Man is Busting Wall Street" for his office's prosecutions of insider trading and other financial fraud on Wall Street.[20] From 2009 to 2012 (and ongoing), Bharara's office oversaw the Galleon Group insider trading investigation against Raj Rajaratnam, Rajat Gupta, Anil Kumar and more than 60 others. Rajaratnam was convicted at trial on 14 counts related to insider trading.[21] Bharara is said to have "reaffirmed his office’s leading role in pursuing corporate crime with this landmark insider trading case, which relied on aggressive prosecutorial methods and unprecedented tactics."[22]

In 2011 when hedge fund portfolio manager Chip Skowron pleaded guilty to insider trading, Bharara said: "Chip Skowron is the latest example of a portfolio manager willing to pay for proprietary, non-public information that gave him an illegal trading edge over the average investor. The integrity of our market is damaged by people who engage in insider trading...."[23] Skowron was sent to prison for five years.[23][24] Bharara has often spoken publicly about his work[25] and written an op-ed about the culture surrounding corporate crime and its effect on market confidence and business risk.[26]

After 85 straight convictions for insider-trading cases, he finally lost one on July 17, 2014. This was when a jury acquitted Rajaratnam's younger brother, Rengan, of such charges.[27]

On October 22, 2015, Bharara dropped seven insider-trading cases two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to a review a lower court decision that would make it harder to pursue wrongful-trading cases. The conviction of Michael S. Steinberg was dropped; Steinberg was the highest-ranking officer of SAC Capital Advisors who had previously been convicted of insider trading.[28]

In 2013, Bharara announced criminal and civil charges against one of the largest and most successful hedge-fund firms in the United States, SAC Capital Advisors LP, and its founder Steven A. Cohen.[29][30] At USD$1.8 billion, it was the largest settlement ever for insider trading, and the firm also agreed to close down.[31][32]

Citibank[edit | edit source]

Citibank was charged numerous times by Bharara's office and other federal prosecutors. In 2012, the bank reached a settlement with Bharara's office to pay $158 million for misleading the government into insuring risky loans.[33] Bharara also made a criminal inquiry into Citibank's Mexican banking unit[34] In 2014, Citi settled with federal prosecutors for $7 billion for ignoring warnings on risky loans.[35]

JPMorgan Chase[edit | edit source]

Almost as soon as he took office, Bharara began investigating the role of Bernie Madoff's primary banker, JPMorgan Chase.[36] Eventually, Bharara and JPMorgan reached a deferred prosecution agreement that called for JPMorgan to forfeit $1.7 billion—the largest forfeiture ever demanded from a bank in American history—to settle charges that it and its predecessors violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to alert state and federal authorities about Madoff's actions.[37][38]

Bharara's office also handled the criminal prosecutions of several employees at Madoff’s firm and their associates. They were convicted by a jury on March 24, 2014.[39]

Bank of America[edit | edit source]

In 2012, federal prosecutors under Bharara sued Bank of America for $1 billion, accusing the bank of carrying out a mortgage scheme that defrauded the government during the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.[40] In 2013, the jury found Bank of America liable for selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac thousands of defective loans in the first mortgage-fraud case brought by the U.S. government to go to trial.[41] The civil verdict also found the bank’s Countrywide Financial unit and former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone liable.[42] However, in 2016 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the finding of fact by the jury that low-quality mortgages were supplied by Countrywide to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac supported only "intentional breach of contract," not fraud. The action, for civil fraud, relied on provisions of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act. This decision turned on lack of intent to defraud at the time the contract to supply mortgages was made.[43]

Russian money laundering fraud[edit | edit source]

In 2013, Bharara began investigating a money laundering fraud scheme in New York City operated by a Russian criminal organization.[44] The alleged fraud links a $230 million Russian tax refund fraud scheme from 2008 to eleven U.S. real estate corporations.[45] The underlying tax refund fraud was first discovered by whistleblower and Russian lawyer. His name was Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested under tax evasion charges, and within a year he was found dead in his prison cell—a suspicious circumstance.[46]

In April 2013, Bharara authorized the FBI to raid the apartment of businessman Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov in Trump Tower.[47]

On April 13, 2013, Bharara was on a list released by the Russian Federation containing Americans banned from entering the country over their alleged human rights violations. The list was a direct response to the so-called Magnitsky list made public by the United States, which included 18 Russians who were subject to asset freezes and visa bans.[48][49]

On September 10, 2013, with help from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Cyrus Vance Jr., the District Attorney for New York County, Bharara's office announced that they had filed a civil forfeiture complaint, freezing $24 million in assets.[50]

Holocaust survivor fund fraud[edit | edit source]

During his first year in office, Bharara charged 17 managers and employees of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims for defrauding Germany $42.5 million by creating thousands of false benefit applications for people who did not suffer in the Holocaust. This fraud, which had been occurring for 16 years, was related to the $400 million that Germany paid out each year to Holocaust survivors.[51][52]

Art fraud[edit | edit source]

During his time in office, Bharara oversaw multiple notable art-fraud cases including the $80-million Knoedler Gallery case, which was the largest art-fraud scheme in American history involving forged masterworks. of artists Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell and others.[53] Bharara brought charges in the $2.5-million case of John Re, a man from East Hampton, New York, who sold forged artwork by Jackson Pollock and others[54] and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.[55] Also Bharara charged Eric Spoutz, an American art dealer. Spoutz was charged with selling hundreds of fake paintings falsely attributed to American masters. Spoutz was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit the $1.45 million he made from the scheme and to pay $154,100 in restitution.[56]

Toyota deferred prosecution[edit | edit source]

In March 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged Toyota by information with one count of wire fraud for lying to consumers about two safety-related issues in the company’s cars, each of which caused unintended acceleration. Under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that Toyota entered into the same day the information was filed, Toyota agreed to pay a $1.2-billion financial penalty, the largest criminal penalty ever imposed on an auto manufacturer. The company also admitted the truth of a detailed statement of facts accompanying the DPA, and agreed to submit to a three-year monitorship.[57]

Public corruption[edit | edit source]

During his tenure, Bharara "successfully prosecuted a dozen current or former state legislators, as well as 15 local officials, party leaders, political consultants and fund-raisers, including two current or former New York City Council members. Only one was acquitted".[58] Bharara charged Republican Senator Vincent Leibell,[59] Democratic Senator Hiram Monserrate,[60] Democratic New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook,[61] and Democratic Yonkers City Councilwoman Sandy Annabi.[62][63] Bharara’s office uncovered an alleged corruption ring involving New York State Senator Carl Kruger, a Democrat. In April 2012, Kruger was sentenced to seven years in federal prison.[64] In February 2011, Bharara announced the indictment of five consultants working on New York City’s electronic payroll and timekeeping project, CityTime, for misappropriating more than $80 million from the project.[65]

On April 2, 2013, Bharara unsealed federal corruption charges against Democratic New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, Republican New York City Councilman Dan Halloran, and several other Republican party officials. The federal complaint alleged that Smith attempted to secure a spot on the Republican ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral election through bribery and fraud.[66]

New York Moreland Commission[edit | edit source]

In 2014, Bharara's office began an inquiry into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's decision to end the work of the Moreland Commission, an anticorruption panel. After a New York Times report documenting Cuomo's staff's involvement with the commission and subsequent statements by commissioners defending the Governor, Bharara warned of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.[67]

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver[edit | edit source]

Bharara made national headlines after investigating 11-term Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, for taking millions of dollars in payoffs. Silver was arrested in January 2015.[68] Silver was subsequently convicted on all counts, triggering his automatic expulsion from the Assembly.[69][70][71] During the Silver prosecution, Judge Valerie Caproni criticized Bharara's public statements, writing that "while castigating politicians in Albany for playing fast and loose with the ethical rules that govern their conduct, Bharara strayed so close to the edge of the rules governing his own conduct."[72][73]

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos[edit | edit source]

Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son, Adam Skelos, were arrested and charged with six counts of corruption on May 4, 2015. The criminal complaint included extortion, fraud, and bribe solicitation charges. Bharara accused Skelos of taking official actions to benefit various businesses in return for payments to his son.[74] On May 28, 2015, Skelos and his son were indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts of bribery, extortion, wire fraud, and conspiracy.[75] In July 2015, in an expanded indictment, federal prosecutors added bribery charges.[76]

On December 11, 2015, a unanimous jury convicted Dean and Adam Skelos of all eight counts of bribery, extortion, and corruption. The trial verdict automatically terminated Dean Skelos from the state legislature.[77][78] On September 26, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated the convictions of the Skeloses and ordered a retrial.[79] The retrial of Skelos and his son began on June 19, 2018.[80] Following a retrial, Skelos and his son were found guilty of eight felonies on July 17, 2018.[81] On October 23, 2018, Skelos was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.[82]

Gang crimes and organized crime[edit | edit source]

From 2009 to 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has convicted more than 1,000 of approximately 1,300 people charged in 52 large-scale takedowns of street drug and drug trafficking organizations.[83] On lowering violent crime rates, Bharara has said, "You can measure the number of people arrested and the number of shootings, but success is when you lift the sense of intimidation and fear."[83] Bharara also oversaw the largest criminal sweep of gangs in Newburgh, New York, working with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement agencies to bring charges against members of the Newburgh Bloods and Newburgh Latin Kings gangs, among others.[84] In 2010, Bharara oversaw the prosecution of eight longshoremen on charges of participation in a multimillion-dollar cocaine trafficking enterprise along the Waterfront, operated by a Panamanian drug organization.[85][86]

In January 2011, Bharara's office participated in a multi-state organized crime takedown, charging 26 members of the Gambino crime family with racketeering and murder, as well as narcotics and firearms charges.[87] This action was part of a coordinated effort that also involved arrests in Brooklyn; Newark, New Jersey, and Providence, Rhode Island; according to the FBI, this was the largest single-day operation against the Mafia in U.S. history.[88] In August 2016, Bharara's office charged 46 leaders, members, and associates of La Cosa Nostra&mdash;including four out of the Five Families (Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, and Bonanno)&mdash;in an extensive racketeering conspiracy.[89]

At a news conference on September 7, 2016 following the arrests of Shimen Liebowitz and Aharon Goldberg, which were two rabbis implicated in the Kiryas Joel murder conspiracy, Bharara called it a "chilling plot," wherein the plotters "met repeatedly to plan the kidnapping and to pay more than $55,000 to an individual they believed would carry it out."[90][91] The rabbis were convicted and sentenced to prison in 2017.[92]

Terrorism prosecutions[edit | edit source]

Under Bharara, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York "won a string of major terrorism trials."[93] Bharara was an advocate of trying terrorists in civilian federal courts rather than in the military commissions at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He contrasted his office's record of successfully convicting terrorists with the lengthy, secretive, and inefficient Guantanamo practice.[93] In a 2014 interview, Bharara said the historical record would show that "greater transparency and openness and legitimacy" leads to "more serious and appropriate punishment."[93] Citing his success in terrorism trials, Bharara stated: "These trials have been difficult, but they have been fair and open and prompt...in an American civilian courtroom, the American people and all the victims of terrorism can be vindicated without sacrificing our principles."[94]

Some of the high-profile terrorist figures convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment during Bharara's term include Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden's son-in-law;[95] They also included Khalid al-Fawwaz and Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Osama bin Laden aides who plotted the 1998 United States embassy bombings that killed 224 people;[96][97][98] Mostafa Kamel Mostafa, a cleric who masterminded the 1998 kidnappings of 16 American, British and Australian tourists in Yemen;[94] and Faisal Shahzad, the attempted Times Square bomber.[99] Bharara also won a massive conviction and 25-year sentence for international arms smuggler Viktor Bout.[99]

Cybercrime[edit | edit source]

In June 2012, The New York Times published an op-ed written by Bharara about the threat posed to private industry by cybercrime and encouraged corporate leaders to take preventive measures and create contingency plans.[100]

Bharara's tenure saw a number of notable prosecutions for computer hacking:

  • Bharara's office worked with Hector Xavier Monsegur ("Sabu"), a computer hacker who later became a federal informant. Because Monsegur's cooperation "helped the authorities infiltrate the shadowy world of computer hacking and disrupt at least 300 cyberattacks on targets that included the United States military," Bharara's office recommended a greatly reduced sentence to the judge, and in 2014 Monsegur was freed with only some of the time served.[101]
  • In May 2014, Bharara's office was part of an international crackdown, led by the FBI and authorities in 19 countries, on the "Blackshades" creepware hacking, in which hackers illicitly access users' systems remotely to steal information.[102]
  • In November 2015, Bharara's office charged three Israeli men in a 23-count indictment that alleged that they ran an extensive computer hacking and fraud scheme that targeted JPMorgan Chase, The Wall Street Journal, and ten other companies. According to prosecutors, the operation generated "hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal profit" and exposed the personal information of more than 100 million people.[103]
  • In May 2016, Bharara's office secured a guilty plea from Alonzo Knowles, a Bahamian man who had hacked into the email accounts of celebrities and athletes in order to steal unreleased movie and television scripts, unreleased music, "nude and intimate images and videos," financial documents, and other personal and sensitive information. Knowles was sentenced to five years in prison.[104]
  • In November 2016, Bharara's office filed charges against a Phoenix, Arizona man, Jonathan Powell, for hacking into thousands of email accounts at Pace University and another university and mining those accounts for users' confidential information.[105]
  • In December 2016, Bharara's office charged three Chinese citizens with hacking into the system of New York law firms advising on mergers and acquisitions, and making more than $4 million by trading on information they gained.[106]
  • Also in December 2016, Bharara's office charged an executive of the Pakistani-based company Axact with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection. Prosecutors say that the company carried out a $140 million diploma mill that defrauded thousands of consumers across the world.[107]

Bharara moved to shut down several of the world's largest Internet poker companies.[108] He prosecuted several payment processors for Internet poker companies. He effectively secured guilty pleas for money laundering.[109][110] In April 2011, Bharara charged 11 founding members of internet gambling companies and their associates involved with pay processing with bank fraud, money laundering and illegal gambling under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). The case is United States v. Scheinberg.[111]

Devyani Khobragade incident[edit | edit source]

Bharara and his office came to the limelight again in December 2013 with the arrest of Devyani Khobragade, the Deputy Consul General of India in New York, who was accused by prosecutors of submitting false work visa documents for her housekeeper and paying the housekeeper "far less than the minimum legal wage."[112] The ensuing incident caused protests from the Indian government and a rift in India–United States relations; Indians expressed outrage that Khobragade was strip-searched (a routine practice for all U.S. Marshals Service arrestees) and held in the general inmate population.[112] The Indian government retaliated for what it viewed as the mistreatment of its consular official by revoking the ID cards and other privileges of U.S. consular personnel and their families in India and removing security barriers in front of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.[113]

Khobragade was subject to prosecution at the time of her arrest because she had only consular immunity (this which gives one immunity from prosecution only for acts committed in connection with official duties) and not the more extensive diplomatic immunity.[112][114] After her arrest, the Indian government moved Khobragade to the Indian's mission to the U.N., upgrading her status and conferring diplomatic immunity on her; as a result, the federal indictment against Khobragade was dismissed in March 2014, although the door was left open to refiling of charges.[115] A new indictment was filed against Khobragade, but by that point she had left the country.[116]

Speaking at Harvard Law School during its 2014 Class Day ceremony, Bharara said that it was the U.S. Department of State, rather than his office that initiated and investigated proceedings against Khobragade and who asked his office to prosecute.[117][118][119]

Reason magazine subpoena[edit | edit source]

During Bharara's term, the U.S. Attorney's Office investigated six Internet comments made on the website of Reason magazine in which anonymous readers made comments about U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the Southern District of New York like "Its [sic] judges like these that should be taken out back and shot" and "Why waste ammunition? Wood chippers get the message across clearly." (The comments were made under an article in the magazine of Forrest's sentencing of Silk Road owner Ross William Ulbricht to life in prison without parole.) In June 2015, a federal grand jury issued a subpoena to the libertarian magazine, demanding that it provide identifying information for the commenters.[120][121] Following the issuance of the subpoena, federal prosecutors applied for an order from a U.S. magistrate judge forbidding the magazine from disclosing the existence of the subpoena to the commenters.[121]

The subpoena became public after being obtained by Popehat's Ken White.[120] The nondisclosure order caused controversy, with critics saying that it infringed the constitutional right to free speech[122] and questioning whether the comments were actually serious threats or merely hyperbolic "trolling."[123] Federal prosecutors dropped the matter as moot.[122] Reason magazine editors Matt Welch and Nick Gillespie characterized the subpoena and nondisclosure order as "suppressing the speech of journalistic outlets known to be critical of government overreach."[121]

Dismissal[edit | edit source]

Following the 2016 election, Bharara met with then-president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in November 2016.[124] Bharara said that Trump asked him to remain as U.S. Attorney, and he agreed to stay on.[125][126]

On March 10, 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered all 46 remaining United States Attorneys who were holdovers from the Obama administration, including Bharara, to submit letters of resignation.[127] Bharara declined to resign. He was fired the next day from Trump's administration.[128][129] He was succeeded by his deputy attorney, Joon Kim, as acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.[128][129]

In a public statement at the time, Bharara said that serving as U.S. Attorney was "the greatest honor of my professional life" and that "one hallmark of justice is absolute independence and that was my touchstone every day that I served". There were expressions of dismay over the firing from Howard Dean, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, as well as from New York State Republican Assemblymen Steve McLaughlin and Brian Kolb, the Assembly Minority Leader.[130]

On June 13, 2017, ProPublica reported that in the spring of 2017, Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz told associates that he had been responsible for getting Bharara fired. Kasowitz reportedly had warned Trump, "This guy is going to get you."[131] In September 2017, however, Bharara said a series of conversational telephone calls from Trump made him increasingly uncomfortable about the appearance of potential improper contact between his office and the Trump office.[132] Bharara added that he finally refused to take a telephone call from Trump and was dismissed 22 hours later.[133]

Later career and other endeavors[edit | edit source]

On April 1, 2017, Bharara joined New York University School of Law as a distinguished scholar in residence.[134]

In September 2017, Bharara started a weekly podcast called "Stay Tuned with Preet", which features long-form interviews with prominent guests.[135] In 2018, Bharara started a second podcast with former New Jersey Attorney General and fellow law professor Anne Milgram, "Cafe Insider", which also provides legal commentary on the latest news.[136] After Milgram was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, she was replaced as co-host with former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce Vance.[137]

Bharara was an executive producer on the Zeshan B 2024 album, O Say, Can You See?.[138]

As of 2025, Bharara is a partner at the WilmerHale law firm.[139]

In popular culture[edit | edit source]

The Showtime television series Billions gives a fictional portrayal of the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of New York's prosecution of financial crimes.[140] The series is loosely based on the investigation of hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen of S.A.C. Capital Advisors by Bharara's office.[141][142] The show's fictional SDNY U.S. Attorney Charles "Chuck" Rhoades Jr., played by Paul Giamatti, was partly inspired by Bharara.[141][143]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

File:Preet Bahara 2012 Shankbone.JPG
Bharara with his wife at the 2012 Time 100 gala

Bharara is married to Dalya Bharara, a non-practicing attorney. As of 2016, the Bhararas lived in Scarsdale, New York with their three children.[144] In interviews, Bharara "has reflected on his family's diverse religious heritage: Sikh (his father), Hindu (his mother), Muslim (his wife's father) and Jewish (his wife's grandmother)."[145]

Bharara is a registered Democrat but "not considered a strong partisan."[145]

Bharara's younger brother Vinit "Vinnie" Bharara, also a graduate of Columbia Law School, is an entrepreneur. Vinnie Bharara and Marc Lore co-founded Quidsi, the parent company of Diapers.com and Soap.com, which they sold in 2010 to Amazon.com for $540 million.[146][147]

Bharara is a fan of Bruce Springsteen.[148] The admiration seems to be reciprocal as at an October 2012 concert in Hartford, Connecticut Springsteen shouted, "This is for Preet Bharara!" before launching into his song "Death to My Hometown".[149]

Works[edit | edit source]

  • Bharara, Preet (March 19, 2019). Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law. New York: Knopf. ISBN 9780525521129. OCLC 1073034857.
  • Bharara, Preet (January 25, 2022). Justice Is... A Guide for Young Truth Seekers. New York: Crown Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780593176627.

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

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External links[edit | edit source]

Legal offices
Preceded by
Lev Dassin
Acting
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
2009–2017
Succeeded by
Joon Kim
Acting