Thirugnanam Ramanathan, 35, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp to pay restitution of $362,247

Thirugnanam Ramanathan, 35, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp to pay restitution of $362,247 and serve three years of supervised release.Ramanathan, a legal resident of Malaysia, pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.The sentencing was jointly announced by U.S. Attorney Joe Stecher and Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant U.S. attorney general."We were very pleased that our office was involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case,'' Stecher said. "This is a unique case, and we will carry through with the prosecution of other individuals involved.''An estimated 60 customers and nine U.S. brokerage firms, including Omaha-based TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., were affected. According to Stecher, brokerage firms sustained about $400,000 in losses.Ramanathan admitted in his guilty plea that he joined a conspiracy operating out of Thailand and India from February through December 2006.In the conspiracy, the prices of certain securities were fraudulently inflated by intruding or "hacking'' into the accounts of customers at brokerage firms in the United States and illegally using the accounts to make large unauthorized purchases of securities.After the price of the securities had been artificially increased or "pumped up'' through the bogus trading, Ramanathan said, he and his co-conspirators sold, or "dumped,'' their own holdings at a profit.The case was investigated by the Omaha office of the FBI, the U.S. Treasury's Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Jaisankar Marimuthu, 33, and Chockalingham Ramanathan, 34, of Chennai, India, also were indicted by a federal grand jury in Omaha in January 2007.Marimuthu and Chockalingham Ramanathan are each charged with one count of conspiracy, eight counts of computer fraud, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of securities fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft.Marimuthu is being detained in a Hong Kong prison, awaiting extradition to the United States after his conviction on similar offenses related to the Hong Kong stock market. Chockalingham Ramanathan remains at large.

Thirugnanam Ramanathan, 35, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp to pay restitution of $362,247

Thirugnanam Ramanathan, 35, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp to pay restitution of $362,247 and serve three years of sup...

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