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Galleon Co-Conspirator Had IRS Tax Lien

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Danielle Chiesi, the New Castle Funds portfolio manager who has been accused of digging up insider information in the massive insider trading scandal at Galleon Management, had a tax lien placed on her by the IRS for $63,226.

The tax lien was paid off last November, according to Bloomberg.com, but that was only a few months after Chiesi used information from an Akamai Technologies insider to short-sell Akamai’s stock, netting her firm $2.4 million. She also passed on the information to Galleon co-founder Raj Rajaratnam, who was at the center of the insider trading scheme, which involved executives from IBM, Intel, and McKinsey & Co.

The tax lien may not have exactly prompted the Akamai trades, as the IRS filed the lien on Aug. 12, 2008, while the trading activity in the Akamai shares happened in late July, shortly before the Internet content delivery company reduced its profit forecast for the year.

Still, Chiesi apparently was able to put the profits from her firm’s trades to good use in paying off her IRS bills. But she may end up owing a lot more to the government than just her overdue taxes once she stands trial.

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