By Jeanette Borzo Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- A California woman, accused of providing inside information on publicly traded companies to hedge funds, was granted bail on Thursday in the latest development of a widening government probe into insider trading. Winifred Jiau, 43, was required by a federal judge in San Francisco to post a $250,000 bond. Jiau, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Taiwan, will remain in custody until she surrenders her passports and makes a $12,000 deposit to secure the bond. Jiau, who was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday, allegedly provided information about the financial performances of Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) to two hedge funds when she worked as a consultant for expert-network firm Primary Global Research LLC. She has been charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. The bail decision comes as a government probe of insider trading continues to expand. U.S. officials are examining hedge funds, mutual funds, investment banks and research firms as part of the probe. Seven people have been arrested so far. Jiau was paid more than $200,000 for her work with Primary Global, which is based in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, Calif. Primary Global has confirmed that Jiau served as an "expert consultant" between September 2006 and December 2008. Expert networks arrange conversations between investment firms and employees of publicly traded companies who moonlight as consultants. In 2008, Jiau provided information about financial results for Marvell Technology and Nvidia during multiple conversations with the two hedge-fund portfolio managers, according to the complaint. During the conversations, she referenced contacts at the companies, one of whom worked under the chief financial officer at Marvell Technology and another who worked in sales at Nvidia, the complaint said. -By Jeanette Borzo, Dow Jones Newswires; 415 765 8230; jeanette.borzo@dowjones.com
