Three consultants and a salesman affiliated with an "expert network" firm were arrested and charged with conspiracy and wire fraud on Thursday in the US government's widening probe of insider trading at hedge funds, according to court documents.
The defendants, accused of passing on tips about technology giants Apple Inc and Advanced Micro Devices, among other companies, were identified as Walter Shimoon, Mark Longoria, Manosha Karunatilaka and James Fleishman in a criminal complaint obtained by Reuters. The FBI has arrested the four men, a law enforcement source said.
Some of the defendants were consultants for expert network firm Primary Global Research, which helps put hedge funds in contact with industry executives and consultants. The charges, filed in Manhattan federal court, are part of a long-running insider trading investigation that included the 2009 charges against Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and a score of others.