Two insider trading defendants have tried to use "Robin Hood" or "Mother Teresa" defenses in their cases recently, without much success. 

Last month, Gautham Shankar, a former trader who had already pleaded guilty to insider trading charges, sought leniency in his sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan. Pleading his case, Shankar's lawyers told Judge Sullivan that Shankar had actually shared his ill-gotten gains with the homeless. “As the government learned during its meetings with Mr. Shankar, he has always, quite literally, given large sums of money away to the homeless on the street of New York, including cash given to him by his co-conspirator for passing tips from former hedge fund analyst Thomas Hardin” his lawyer said.

Shankar received a sentence of probation, and not jail time, but it does not appear that his "Robin Hood" appeal had much effect on Judge Sullivan. The New York Daily News reported that the judge "wasn't totally impressed with Shankar's largess. 'If you want to make charitable donations, you can, but you don't get to do it with insider-trading proceeds,' Sullivan said at sentencing."

Similarly, in the high-profile prosecution of former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta, lawyers for Gupta recently urged U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff to reconsider his prior ruling limiting the amount of time Gupta's lawyers may spend at the trial talking about their client's charitable and philanthropic works. Judge Rakoff shot back by invoking the name of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Mother Teresa:

"If Mother Teresa were charged with bank robbery, the jury would still have to determine whether or not she committed a bank robbery," U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said.

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