Jury deliberations in the largest hedge fund insider trading trial in US history will begin again with a new juror stepping in to replace the earlier one who is leaving for medical reasons.
The new juror is a 39-year-old employee of the New York parks department.
Since April 25, 12 jury members have been deliberating on the 14 counts of securities fraud and conspiracy charges levied against the main accused Raj Rajaratnam.
The government has argued that Rajaratnam, Galleon Group founder, made $63.8 million from insider tips but the defence has said that the one-time
billionaire traded on a "mosaic" of public information.
Twenty-one people have pleaded guilty in the huge insider trading case. Rajaratnam, 53, who was arrested in 2009, denies wrongdoing. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
The jury now comprises of eight women and four men. They have heard seven weeks of evidence and closing arguments in the trial, which began in March.
After regularly appearing in court for his trial, Rajaratnam has been a no show in court, this week.
John Dowd, the defendant's lawyer, clarified that his client had to get emergency surgery done on Sunday morning for
a bacterial infection on his foot.