The prosecutors had made an unusual move in the way they filed the charges. Rather than charging Martoma through an indictment—a formal criminal charge that comes after a federal grand jury has heard evidence against the defendant—Bharara’s office had charged Martoma only with a complaint. A complaint was the first step in a prosecution. An indictment meant that a grand jury had already found probable cause for the U.S. Attorney’s Office to go ahead with a prosecution. The prosecutors could have gone directly to the indictment, but they hoped that delaying that step would serve as an effective
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