TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Independent candidate Greg Orman’s business dealings are facing new scrutiny in Kansas’ unexpectedly competitive U.S. Senate race, as he acknowledged his friendship with a former Goldman Sachs board member sentenced to federal prison for insider trading.
Orman said Wednesday he has a “very modest” investment in a company with Rajat K. Gupta, who was convicted in 2012, received a two-year sentence and was considered among the government’s biggest catches in a multiyear crackdown on insider trading. Also in late 2012, according to federal court records, Orman replaced Gupta’s representative on the board of New Silk Route, a billion-dollar fund focusing on investments in Asia.
A 45-year-old Olathe businessman, Orman is trying to unseat three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts. Kansas is a GOP-leaning state, but the 78-year-old incumbent looked vulnerable after a tough primary. The Democratic nominee stopped campaigning and wants his name off the ballot, potentially boosting Orman’s chances and hurting the GOP’s designs for recapturing a Senate majority.
Orman hasn’t yet submitted a financial disclosure report with the Senate and faces a Sunday deadline after having it extended. Roberts has received extensions in the past but filed a disclosure report in August, and his campaign called on Orman to divulge information about his finances.
Orman said he won’t abandon Gupta because Gupta is a friend. Also, nothing in court records suggests the insider trading case involved Orman’s businesses.