Yes this is what top hedge funds do. Non-competes are enforceable while working for the company (obviously lol), so they just ... keep you working for the comp

Yes this is what top hedge funds do. Non-competes are enforceable while working for the company (obviously lol), so they just ... keep you working for the company, paying you salary+bonus! (E.g. 1 year+ for Citadel, 3 years for RenTech... old info though...) It's called "gardening leave".