Business

Martoma may have lied to Stanford — as well as Harvard

Former SAC portfolio manager and alleged inside trader Mathew Martoma appears to have lied not just to Harvard Law School but also to Stanford University Business School.

Martoma enrolled at Stanford in 2001, two years after being kicked out of Harvard for forging his transcript grades from B’s to A’s, in an apparent bid for a federal court clerkship.

He graduated from Stanford in 2003.

Stanford admissions forms require applicants to disclose disciplinary matters — such as being expelled from Harvard, according to a report.

Expulsion from Harvard would be a “serious impediment” to getting into the university, the report said, quoting a person familiar with Stanford’s admission process.

Stanford would not say whether Martoma disclosed the matter on his application, the report, in the New York Times, said.

Martoma, 39, on trial in Manhattan federal court for using illegal tips on drug trials to cobble together the most lucrative trade ever based on inside information, changed his name after he left Harvard, from Ajai Mathew Thomas to Mathew Martoma.

Martoma is the eighth SAC exec to face insider-trading charges. The prior seven have been convicted.

On Tuesday, Joel Ross, one of the two doctors Martoma is accused of corrupting to get the illegal tips about Alzheimer drug trials, said he got $5,750 for the “consultations” where he handed over the info.

But it wasn’t just money Ross was after.

The doctor wanted Martoma to let him know of any biotech companies that were looking for clinics to perform early-stage trials on patients for drugs in development.

Ross hoped Martoma could help drum up some business for his clinic. “If the business stopped, my salary would cease,” he told the jurors.

Ross promised to return the favor to Martoma. “I’d already told him some confidential data,” he said. “And if other beneficial information came to light, I would share that.”

Martoma is facing at least 15 years in prison if convicted.

The government claims Martoma’s tips helped Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital earn profits and avoid losses totaling $276 million.