Judge wants to study agreement prosecutors reached with giant hedge fund and its lawyers.

Story Highlights

Judge says shell study pre-sentence report and other court filings before issuing decision Guilty plea is part of record $1.8 billion agreement between hedge fund and prosecutors Former analyst who divulged inside information separately pleads guilty

NEW YORK – A Manhattan federal judge Friday delayed a final decision on accepting SAC Capital Advisors’ criminal guilty plea in a record-setting $1.8 billion insider trading case.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain indicated she wants to study the agreement prosecutors reached with the giant hedge fund and its attorneys. She scheduled a March 14 sentencing date.

The postponement is the latest development in a string of guilty pleas and convictions linked to the massive scam.

An attorney for SAC Capital formally entered the guilty pleas to securities fraud and wire fraud on behalf of the hedge fund and several affiliates. The pleas were part of a deal announced Monday by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Barara that also requires the hedge fund to cease trading for outside investors.

The case focused on evidence that some traders at the hedge fund illegally sought and received information about market-moving corporate finance decisions that had not been publicly announced and available to investors.

Peter Nussbaum, the hedge fund’s general counsel, expressed deep remorse for the criminal violations.

Subject to the Court’s acceptance, today four SAC Capital companies pled guilty to serious federal crimes that undermined the integrity of our securities markets, said Bharara in a statement issued after Friday’s hearing. Financial institutions should know that they are not automatically immune from prosecution, and we will hold companies, as well as individuals, accountable wherever appropriate.

Another federal judge on Wednesday accepted a separate SAC Capital guilty plea to a related civil forfeiture action.

Meanwhile, a former research analyst pleaded guilty Friday to giving an SAC Capital trader inside information about an Internet search and advertising partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo!

Sandeep Aggarwal, 40, a former analyst for Collins Stewart in San Francisco, pleaded guilty to passing the information in 2009 to Richard Lee. The former SAC Capital trader has since entered his own guilty plea to conspiracy and securities fraud related to insider trading. Lee and Aggarwal are cooperating with prosecutors.

Contributing: The Associated Press