New October 13 date set for Rajaratnam sentencing

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The sentencing of Raj Rajaratnam, the prominent hedge fund founder who was convicted in May in a sweeping insider trading prosecution, was postponed to October 13 from next Tuesday.

The single sentence written order issued on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell in New York did not give a reason for the postponement of the proceeding.

Federal prosecutors have asked Holwell to sentence Galleon Group hedge fund founder Rajaratnam, 54, to between 19-1/2 years and 24-1/2 years, reflecting nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines. He was convicted by a jury on 14 securities fraud and conspiracy criminal charges in May.

Rajaratnam is represented by law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, whose lawyers have requested a sentence below the guidelines, citing health reasons.

A spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment on the postponement and a spokeswoman for the office of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney also declined to comment.

The case is USA v Raj Rajaratnam et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 09-01184.

(Reporting by Grant McCool; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)