Yesterday, a federal jury in Manhattan found Matthew Martoma, a former trader at SAC Capital, guilty on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy related to an insider trading scheme. The scheme allegedly involved Martoma receiving and trading on inside information he obtained from doctors related to a pharmaceutical trial for an Alzheimer's drug. 

Here are the key facts you need to know:

Martoma faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the two fraud counts on which he was convicted, and five years for the conspiracy charge. His actual sentence is expected to be closer to seven to ten years in prison. The court has not yet set a date for sentencing.

Martoma's lawyer stated that he was "very disappointed and we plan to appeal."

Martoma's trades allegedly allowed SAC to make gains and avoid losses totaling $276 million--not to mention a $9 million bonus for Martoma himself. Bharara described the amounts involved as being “on a scale that has no historical precedent.”

In a statement following Martoma's conviction, Bharara noted that Martoma is the 79th person convicted of insider trading after trial or by guilty plea in the SDNY in his four years leading the office. Bharara did not mention it but even more impressive is the fact that Bharara now has a perfect record of 79 for 79 in insider trading cases.

Following the Martoma conviction, all eyes now turn to the question of whether Bharara will pursue the "white whale" that is Steve Cohen, SAC's founder. During the Martoma's trial, one of the government's key witnesses testified that he was told by the FBI that both he and Martoma were only "grains of sand" as the government was "really after a man named Steven A. Cohen.”

 

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