Former New York Retirement Fund Employee Sentenced in Pay-to-Play Scheme

Navnoor Kang, who served as head of fixed income at the New York State Common Retirement Fund until early 2016, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, the Wall Street Journal reports.

In 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges against Kang and two brokers accused of orchestrating a pay-to-play scheme to steer billions of dollars to certain firms in exchange for luxury gifts, lavish vacations, and tens of thousands of dollars spent in unethical ways.

Kang allegedly used his position to direct up to $2.5 billion in state business to Gregg Schonhorn and Deborah Kelley, who were registered representatives at two different broker/dealers. In exchange for this business, which netted Schonhorn and Kelley millions of dollars in commissions, the brokers provided Kang with tens of thousands of dollars in benefits. Last October, Kelley was sentenced to probation for a term of three years with six months home confinement and 1,000 hours of community service.