New York City police were called to his home on Monday night, where they found a knife near his body. Valvani died after an apparent, self-inflicted slash to the neck, a spokeswoman said.
We mourn the tragic loss of Sanjay, a devoted father, husband and friend, Jacob Gottlieb, Visiums founder, said in a statement Tuesday.
The stunning development follows Valvanis arrest last week on insider trading charges, which led to Visiums decision to liquidate four of its hedge funds. Valvani, a top lieutenant of Gottliebs, reaped more than $32 million from trades in drug companies using secret tips, according to federal prosecutors. Valvanis lawyer said he was innocent of the charges.
At Visium, Valvani oversaw a portfolio of specialty-pharmaceutical stocks. His performance was so good that rivals at other hedge funds would question Visium employees at conferences about Valvanis confidence in his trades, a former colleague said. Valvani managed as much as $2 billion, including borrowed money, before he was put on leave in April.