Dan Kamensky, the hedge-fund founder who pleaded guilty to rigging a bid for shares in Neiman Marcus Group’s former Mytheresa subsidiary, is asking a federal judge for leniency amid a show of support from his peers in the distressed-debt investing community.

Kamensky faces up to 18 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines as part of his agreement with federal prosecutors in February to plead guilty to one count of bankruptcy fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Instead, his lawyers are asking US District Judge Denise Cote to spare him prison, put him on probation and require him to do community service. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7.