Former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman David Ruder tells Reuters Insider that federal prosecutors’ extensive use of wiretaps during the Raj Rajaratnam insider trading trial had “a great influence” on the jury and set a precedent for future cases. Rajaratnam was convicted on Wednesday on nine counts of securities fraud and five counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The convictions came after a two-month trial, and 12 days of jury deliberations. Rajaratnam will remain free on a $100 million bond until his sentencing July 29.

Ruder also voiced perhaps the most puzzling aspect of Rajaratnam’s actions: why? “… the thing that strikes one is why someone who has such immense wealth and such success should resort to this kind of conduct. My own experience is that insider trading cases typically involve very greedy people, and they think they won’t be caught. And here this individual was, according to the jury, caught in insider trading.”

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