Jiau guilty of insider trading

Winifred Jiau, the first consultant for a so-called expert network firm to go to trial on insider trading charges, has been convicted in the US 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 the chip-makers Marvell Technology and Nvidia.

Prosecutors said she leaked tips to Noah Freeman, a former analyst at SAC Capital Advisors, 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.

Jiau will be sentenced in September. She plans to appeal.