(Updates with more details throughout)
By John Kell and Brendan Conway
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Prosecutors in New York charged nine people with crimes Thursday--including lawyers, a former Moody's Corp. (MCO) analyst and the founder of trading firm Incremental Capital--and announced five others pleaded guilty in an insider-trading case that allegedly netted $33 million in improper funds.
The arrests are the latest in an ongoing probe into insider trading by hedge funds on Wall Street. Last month, Raj Rajaratnam, founder of hedge-fund firm Galleon Group, and five others were charged criminally with insider trading. More arrests for alleged insider trading were expected, and some of the individuals arrested Thursday are said to have ties to the Galleon case.
So far, the following have been charged in the latest case:
Zvi Goffer--The founder of Incremental Capital, Goffer, of New York, worked at Galleon from January through August 2008 and worked at the Schottenfeld Group, a New York-based proprietary trading firm that authorities say was involved in several of the insider trading cases, for much of 2007.
He was named the leader of the insider-trading ring busted Thursday. Nicknamed "Octopussy" for having his arms in so many sources of inside information, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He is accused of receiving inside information from Gautham Shankar about takeover announcements at Hilton and Kronos. He then allegedly traded on the information.
Authorities say he gave one of his tippees a disposable cell phone with two phone numbers programmed, named "you" and "me." After use, Goffer allegedly destroyed the phone by biting the SIM card and breaking the phone in half, disposing of one half himself and instructing the tippee to get rid the other.
Arthur Cutillo--An intellectual property lawyer at Ropes & Gray LLP. His biography has been removed from the firm's Web site. He allegedly tipped inside information to Goffer through friend and fellow attorney Jason Goldfarb. Previously employed at Merck & Co. (MRK).
Jason Goldfarb--Goldfarb is an attorney in private practice in Brooklyn, N.Y., who allegedly received information from Cutillo and passed it along to Goffer. Goldfarb is accused of partaking in the use of disposable cell phones to conceal the tipping.
Craig Drimal--Worked in Galleon's office space, but not for the hedge fund. Of Weston, Conn., he is a registered representative at Echotrade, and is also a trader at Incremental Capital.
Drimal has been described as an "independent financial services professional" on his LinkedIn profile. He is accused of paying cash kickbacks to Zvi Goffer, who in turn paid kickbacks to Goldfarb, shortly after the Axcan acquisition announcement. Authorities say he made over $6 million in profits as a result of 3Com Corp. (COMS) and Axcan tips from Goffer.
Emanuel Goffer--Zvi Goffer's brother, Emanuel, worked at Spectrum Trading from January through November 2007, and is currently employed at Incremental. He too acquired 3Com shares, according to the complaint.
A 2003 University Wire report said that Emanuel Goffer, 31, managed a business called Beantown Notes that sold the lecture notes of Boston University students. The report quoted Emanuel Goffer defending the business against a BU cease-and-desist order.
Michael Kimelman--A portfolio manager and partner at Incremental Capital and registrered representative at Echotrade. Also allegedly bought shares of 3Com. Identified on his LinkedIn profile as a former partner at Remsenberg Capital, former member of Darkhorse Capital, LLC, and a onetime associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. Authorities say he was a trader at Lighthouse Financial Group, LLC, a New York investment bank and registered broker-dealer, during the relevant period. Of Larchmont, N.Y.
David Plate--Currently employed at Incremental, Plate worked at Schottenfeld between June 2006 and March 2008. He allegedly purchased 3Com stock. Authorities also say he received inside information from Shankar about a Kronos takeover, and traded on the information. He previously worked at Gabelli Asset Management, and began his career at Salomon Smith Barney, according to a biography posted on the Web.
Deep Shah--A former Moody's analyst. Last month, federal prosecutors alleged the former junior analyst passed on inside information about Blackstone Group LP's (BX) $26 billion takeover of Hilton Hotels before the deal was made public. Authorities also accuse Shah of illegally tipping Roomy Khan about a Kronos takeover announcement.
Ali Hariri--Currently serves as vice president of the broadband carrier networking business at Atheros Communications Inc. (ATHR). He has a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Connecticut, according to Atheros' Web site. Authorities say he tipped Ali Far (see below) with information about an Atheros earnings pre-announcement and an earnings announcement.
The following five have already pleaded guilty, investigators say:
Roomy Khan--Tipster who investigators say touched off the recent insider-trading case involving the Galleon hedge-fund firm. The Ft. Lauderdale hedge-fund consultant is the aunt of a friend of Moody's analyst Shah. Authorities say she obtained inside information about earnings at Polycom Inc. (PLCM) and Google Inc. (GOOG) from unnamed sources, and about takeover announcements of Hilton and Kronos from Deep Shah. They say she then traded on the information and allegedly provided some or all of it to Rajaratnam, who used it in Galleon trades. Khan was convicted in 2001 of sending inside information to Galleon about Intel Corp. (INTC), where she worked in the 1990s. Khan also previously worked at Galleon.
Steven Fortuna--Founder of hedge fund S2 Capital Management. Authorities say he received inside information from Danielle Chiesi, who was charged on Oct. 16, relating to Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM). He allegedly traded on the information for S2 Capital. Of Westwood, Mass.
Gautham Shankar--A former proprietary trader at Schottenfeld Group who allegedly tipped Zvi Goffer and David Plate. The New Caanan, Conn., resident is accused of receiving inside information from the person identified in the SEC complaint as Tipper X about Google's earnings announcements and Hilton and Kronos takeover announcements. Shanker is also accused of trading on this information himself.
Ali Far--Co-founder and managing partner at hedge-fund firm Spherix Capital, and Far & Lee, a California-based trading entity. Authorities say Far, of Saratoga, Calif., traded on inside information provided by Choo Beng Lee, the Spherix co-founder, about a Google earnings announcement. They also say Far obtained and traded on an Atheros earnings pre-announcement and earnings announcement on a tip from Ali Hariri. Far then passed the information to Lee, and they both traded on the information on behalf of Spherix Capital, authorities say.
Choo Beng Lee--Co-founder and managing partner at Far & Lee and Spherix Capital. The San Jose resident is accused of obtaining inside information about a Google earnings announcement from the same source as Khan, and then shared it with Ali Far. The two allegedly traded on the information on behalf of Far & Lee.
(Joseph Checkler, Joe Bel Bruno, and Chad Bray contributed to this report.)
-By Brendan Conway, Dow Jones Newswires; (212) 416-2670; brendan.conway@dowjones.com