Preetinder Singh Bharara is an American lawyer and former federal prosecutor who served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2009 to 2017. Born on October 13, 1968, in Firozpur, Punjab, India, to a Sikh father and Hindu mother, he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1970 at age two, became a naturalized U.S. citizen at 12, and grew up in Eatontown, New Jersey. Bharara graduated as valedictorian from the Ranney School (1986), earned a B.A. in Government magna cum laude from Harvard College (1990), and a J.D. from Columbia Law School (1993), where he was a member of the Columbia Law Review. His early career included private practice as a litigation associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (1993-1996) and Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman (1996-2000), focusing on white-collar defense. In 2000, he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, prosecuting organized crime, narcotics trafficking, racketeering, and securities fraud cases, including actions against the Gambino and Colombo crime families. From 2005 to 2009, he served as chief counsel to Senator Chuck Schumer on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, leading the bipartisan investigation into the Bush administration's dismissal of U.S. attorneys, which contributed to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's resignation. As U.S. Attorney, Bharara oversaw one of the office's most productive eras, prosecuting nearly 100 Wall Street executives for insider trading, dismantling elements of the Italian Mafia (convicting leaders of four of the Five Families), pursuing counter-terrorism cases against Al-Qaeda affiliates, and tackling public corruption, financial fraud, cybercrime, and gang violence. Notable actions included the conviction of hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, the SAC Capital insider trading case resulting in a $1.8 billion settlement, and investigations into money laundering schemes involving luxury real estate purchases. After his dismissal by President Donald Trump in March 2017, Bharara joined New York University School of Law as a distinguished scholar in residence (April 2017) and became a partner at WilmerHale, focusing on investigations and criminal litigation. He has since expanded into media, hosting the podcast 'Stay Tuned with Preet' for Cafe.com, authoring the book 'Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law' (2019), and contributing as a commentator on legal and political issues. Bharara is married to Dalya Bharara, with whom he has three children, and resides in Westchester County, New York. His younger brother, Vinit Bharara, is a successful entrepreneur who co-founded Diapers.com, sold to Amazon for $540 million in 2010.