Jiau Found Guilty of Insider Trading

Winifred Jiau, the first consultant for a so-called expert network firm to go to trial on insider trading charges, was convicted on Monday of securities fraud and conspiring with hedge funds to gain an illegal market advantage.

Jiau had been charged with leaking information she obtained from insiders at chipmakers Marvell Technology Group Ltd (NASDAQ:MRVL) and Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA).

Prosecutors said she leaked such tips to former SAC Capital Advisors LP analyst Noah Freeman, who pleaded guilty and testified against her, and Samir Barai, a founder of the Barai Capital Management hedge fund.

The Taiwan-born Jiau, 43, lived in Fremont, California, before being arrested last December in a government crackdown on insider trading on Wall Street.

The case is USA v Winifred Jiau et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 11-00161.