Calif. Woman Accused of Insider Trading Fails to Post Bail

A California woman, accused of providing inside information on publicly traded companies to hedge funds, was ordered jailed until Monday after failing to meet her bail conditions, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Winifred Jiau, 43, was required by a federal judge in San Francisco to post a $250,000 bond to obtain her release, but was unable to do so, her lawyer Mark Goldrosen said late Thursday. Jiau, a dual citizen of the US and Taiwan, surrendered her passports, her lawyer said. She is scheduled to appear in court again Monday morning.

Jiau, of Fremont, Calif., was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday. She allegedly provided information about the financial results of Nvidia Corp. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. to two hedge fund portfolio managers when she worked as a consultant for expert-network firm Primary Global Research LLC.

Jiau has been charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Goldrosen declined to comment on the substance of the charges.

The government's probe of insider trading continues to expand. Jiau was the seventh person who worked as a consultant or employee for Primary Global Research to be charged since late November.

She was allegedly paid more than $200,000 for her work with Primary Global, based in Mountain View, Calif. Primary Global said in a statement Wednesday that Jiau served as an "expert consultant" between September 2006 and December 2008.