Five more charged in American insider information probe
THE US probe into insider trading widened yesterday with the arrests of three technology company managers and a salesman on charges of leaking secrets about companies including Apple to hedge funds.
A fifth person, a former Dell employee, pleaded guilty to charges of providing inside information about the company on 10 December.
The executives charged had worked for Flextronics International, which makes parts for firms such as Apple; chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices; and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. They were hired as consultants by a California-based networking firm, Primary Global Research, to offer hedge funds insight on trends and sectors, but allegedly shared information on sales and profits.
“Today’s charges allege that a corrupt network of insiders at some of the world’s leading technology companies served as so-called ‘consultants’ who sold out their employers by stealing and then peddling their valuable inside information,” Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said.
The hedge funds that allegedly received the tips were not identified.
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Walter Shimoon, 39, a director at Flextronics, charged with sharing Apple’s sales figures.
Mark Anthony Longoria, 44, charged with leaking details of Advanced Micro Devices’ sales.
Manosha Karunatilaka, 37, account manager at TSM, charged with giving out sales data.
James Fleishman, 41, a salesman for Primary Global Research charged with insider trading.