On the form, the defense stressed the location of where Shleifer’s work took place—listed as his home in Newton, Mass.—while the prosecution pointed to the title of the form.

“They told you the Overseas Assignment form was a distraction,” said Bloom to the jury. “I love that. ‘Distraction.’ It says ‘Overseas Assignment’, it says Russia and it’s signed by Shleifer. Yes, he lived in Newton, but he was assigned to Russia.”

Last June, Shleifer and former HIID employee Jonathan Hay were found liable for fraud because of personal investments they made in Russia while advising the Russian government on privatization.

Today’s verdict will have implications for the outcome of a future trial that will assess the amount of damages Shleifer and Hay are liable to pay under the False Claims Act. Each man could face triple damages of up to $104 million.

Harvard was cleared of fraud charges last June but may still be liable for up to $34.8 million in damages to USAID for breach of contract.

Three members of the defense team rose simultaneously to object when prosecutor Bloom asked a witness, former HIID employee Kathaleen Mercier, if she “knew that Shleifer was a close friend of the President of the University [Lawrence H. Summers].” Judge Woodlock sustained the objection.

“Affiliations among people at large institutions are not part of this case, so you just put it out of your mind,” he told the jury.

Jury members seemed tired and a few snoozed through some of the more tedious testimony yesterday, the last day of a three-day trial. Shleifer has looked calm throughout the trial, laughing and patting his defense team on the back during recesses.

—Staff writer May Habib can be reached at habib@fas.harvard.edu.