Preet Bharara
Born 1968 · Age 57
Indian American lawyer and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (2009–2017); later academic, author, podcast host, and partner at WilmerHale.
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Life & Career Timeline
Family immigrated to the United States
Bharara and his parents emigrated from Firozpur (Ferozepur), Punjab, India to the United States.
Naturalized as a U.S. citizen
Bharara became a naturalized U.S. citizen at age 12.
Graduated Ranney School (valedictorian)
Graduated as valedictorian from Ranney School in Tinton Falls, New Jersey.
Earned AB, Harvard College (magna cum laude)
Graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with an A.B. in Government.
Earned JD, Columbia Law School
Received a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School; was a member of the Columbia Law Review.
Joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as litigation associate
Started legal career in private practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher after law school.
Joined Swidler Berlin / Shereff Friedman
Moved to the law firm Shereff, Friedman (Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman) doing white-collar defense work.
Appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney, SDNY
Became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York; prosecuted organized crime, narcotics, securities fraud.
Adjunct professor at Fordham Law School
Served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law (approx. 2003–2005).
Led investigations into 2006 U.S. attorneys dismissals
Played a leading role in the Senate Judiciary Committee investigation into the Bush administration’s firing of U.S. attorneys (investigation took place during his Schumer tenure).
Joined Senator Chuck Schumer as Chief Counsel
Left SDNY to become chief counsel to Senator Charles (Chuck) Schumer and Staff Director for the Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee.
Oversaw Galleon insider-trading investigation
SDNY office oversaw the high-profile Galleon Group insider-trading probe (Raj Rajaratnam and others) during his early SDNY tenure.
Nominated as U.S. Attorney for SDNY
President Barack Obama nominated Bharara to be U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Unanimously confirmed by U.S. Senate
U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination as U.S. Attorney for SDNY.
Sworn in as U.S. Attorney, SDNY
Officially sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Honored on magazine and recognition lists (early tenure)
Accumulated early tenure accolades (CNN, Washington Post, Fortune profiles) after high-profile prosecutions (e.g., Rajaratnam) and restorations of SDNY prominence.
Formed/merged Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit
Early in his tenure he merged units to form a Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit to strengthen transnational prosecutions.
Prosecuted Faisal Shahzad (Times Square bomber)
Oversaw successful prosecution and conviction of Faisal Shahzad for the attempted Times Square bombing.
Prosecuted Chip Skowron (insider trading)
Hedge-fund manager Chip Skowron pleaded guilty to insider trading and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Recovered funds for Madoff victims
Assisted in recovering $7.2 million from Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme for victim compensation (SDNY involvement).
CityTime consultants indicted
February 2011: indicted five consultants in the CityTime payroll/timekeeping corruption case for misappropriating more than $80 million (investigation later expanded).
United States v. Scheinberg (Internet poker prosecutions)
In April 2011 charged founding members of online poker companies and associated payment processors for bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal gambling under UIGEA.
Gambino Organized Crime takedown (largest single-day Mafia operation)
January 2011: charged 26 members of the Gambino crime family as part of a multi-state operation—the largest single-day operation against the Mafia in U.S. history.
India Abroad Person of the Year
Named India Abroad's 2011 Person of the Year.
Named Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility honoree
Received the 2011 Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility from Columbia Law School.
Raj Rajaratnam convicted of insider trading
Rajaratnam convicted on multiple counts in one of the landmark insider-trading cases led by SDNY under Bharara.
Citibank settlement with SDNY — $158M
Citibank reached a settlement to pay $158 million related to misleading the government about risky loans (SDNY actions in 2012).
Carl Kruger sentenced for corruption
Carl Kruger (former New York State Senator) sentenced to seven years in federal prison after prosecution by SDNY.
Featured on Time magazine cover; Time 100 list
Featured on Time (cover headline 'This Man Is Busting Wall Street') and included in Time's '100 Most Influential People in the World' (2012).
Sued Bank of America for $1 billion
Federal prosecutors under Bharara sued Bank of America for $1 billion alleging a mortgage fraud scheme related to the 2008 crisis.
Bloomberg Markets '50 Most Influential' recognition
Included in Bloomberg Markets Magazine's '50 Most Influential' list (2012; repeated recognition in later years).
Oversaw convictions of ~1,000 in major gang takedowns (through 2014)
From 2009–2014, the office convicted more than 1,000 of ~1,300 people charged in 52 large-scale drug/gang takedowns.
Wrote New York Times op-ed on cybercrime threat
Published an op-ed in The New York Times (June 2012) urging industry to take preventive measures against cybercrime.
SAC Capital criminal & civil charges; $1.8B settlement
Filed charges against hedge-fund SAC Capital and founder Steven A. Cohen; SAC agreed to pay $1.8 billion — largest insider-trading settlement at that time — and to shut down certain operations.
Russian money-laundering probe begins
Launched investigation into alleged $230 million Russian tax-refund fraud laundering into NYC real estate; investigation tied to Magnitsky case.
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Fordham University
Received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Fordham University School of Law (listed among honorary degrees).
Knoedler art-fraud cases overseen
Oversaw notable art-fraud prosecutions including the large Knoedler Gallery forgery scheme (largest art-fraud scheme in U.S. history by alleged value).
Authorized FBI raid of Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov in Trump Tower
Authorized FBI action in April 2013 connected to the Russian investigation.
Placed on Russia ban list
Russia released a list banning certain Americans from entering the country in direct response to the Magnitsky-related U.S. actions; Bharara was included.
Filed civil forfeiture complaint, froze $24M
SDNY filed a civil forfeiture complaint as part of the Russian-linked probe, freezing about $24 million in assets.
Arrest of Devyani Khobragade (Indian diplomat)
SDNY's arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade on visa/labor-document charges led to a major diplomatic strain between India and the U.S.
Citi $7 billion settlement
Citi reached a $7 billion settlement with federal authorities (Citi settlement referenced during Bharara's tenure).
Lost an insider-trading jury verdict (Rengan Rajaratnam)
After 85 straight insider-trading convictions, the office saw an acquittal of Rengan Rajaratnam on July 17, 2014 (loss of a case).
Spoke at Harvard Law School Class Day
Delivered the Class Day speech at Harvard Law School in 2014 (public commencement-related speaking engagement).
Toyota deferred prosecution agreement — $1.2B penalty
Toyota entered into a DPA and agreed to pay $1.2 billion and accept a three-year monitorship for safety-related misrepresentations (March 2014).
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Pace University
Received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.
Dropped seven insider-trading cases after Supreme Court action
On October 22, 2015, Bharara dropped seven insider-trading cases two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court refused review of a decision limiting certain wire-fraud prosecutions.
Sheldon Silver arrested on corruption charges
Investigated and unsealed charges that led to the arrest of Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly (Jan 2015). Silver was later convicted (and later his conviction was overturned on appeal).
Wholesale recognition and lists (Worth, Vanity Fair)
Included in Vanity Fair New Establishment and Worth magazine 'Power 100' lists across multiple years (2012–2016); continued high-profile recognition.
Named 'Newsmaker of the Decade' by City & State
City & State named Bharara 'Newsmaker of the Decade' in 2016 in recognition of his impact as SDNY U.S. Attorney.
Major cybercrime and hacking prosecutions (2014–2016)
Under Bharara, SDNY pursued numerous cybercrime cases: Blackshades (2014), indictments of core LulzSec/Anonymous members, and multiple 2015–2016 large-scale hacking/fraud indictments.
Major Mafia arrests — La Cosa Nostra takedown
August 2016: charged 46 leaders, members and associates of La Cosa Nostra, implicating four of the Five Families (Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno).
Honorary degree, Seton Hall University School of Law
Received an honorary degree from Seton Hall University School of Law (2016).
Kiryas Joel rabbis arrests announced (news conference)
At a press conference following arrests related to a kidnapping/murder conspiracy, Bharara called the plot 'chilling'; the rabbis were later convicted and sentenced in 2017.
Joined Some Spider Studios (executive vice president)
Teamed up with his brother Vinit's media company Some Spider Studios and served as an executive vice president; began media/podcast work.
Joined NYU School of Law as Distinguished Scholar in Residence
Became a Distinguished Scholar in Residence and adjunct professor at New York University School of Law after leaving SDNY.
Announced plans for a memoir
After leaving office, announced plans to publish memoir and to expand public-facing media work.
Fired as U.S. Attorney by President Trump
On March 11, 2017, during the Trump administration, Bharara was dismissed after refusing to submit his resignation when asked.
Launched/Hosted podcasts (Stay Tuned with Preet; Café Insider)
Became host of 'Stay Tuned with Preet' and 'Café Insider' podcasts on Vox Media's CAFE network, discussing justice, policy, and business.
Published Doing Justice (New York Times bestseller)
Released 'Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment and the Rule of Law', which became a New York Times bestseller.
Scheduled commencement speaker & honorary degree, Brooklyn Law School
Announced to deliver the commencement address at Brooklyn Law School's 119th commencement and to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree (event scheduled May 15, 2020).
Named to 'Law Power 100' list
Included in City & State's 'Law Power 100' list in 2023 (recognition of ongoing influence in law).
Partner at WilmerHale law firm
As of 2025, Bharara is a partner at the WilmerHale law firm focusing on investigations and criminal litigation matters.
Key Achievement Ages
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