Ex-IBM exec sentenced for insider trading

Former IBM executive Robert Moffat on Monday was sentenced to six months in jail and pay a fine of $50,000 for his part in a major insider trading scheme, according to news reports.

In March, the former IBM executive pleaded guilty to revealing insider information about IBM, Lenovo, and Advanced Micro Devices to New Castle Funds consultant Danielle Chiesi, with whom he allegedly claimed an intimate relationship, according to a Bloomberg report.

Beyond involving Moffat and Chiesi, the crime allegedly spread to 12 other people--in two related insider-trading schemes--including Raj Rajaratnam, founder of hedge fund Galleon Group. Rajaratnam and the others have been charged with securities fraud by federal prosecutors alleging that they were involved in the insider trading of several tech companies, including Intel, Google, IBM, and AMD.

For more on this story, read Former IBM exec gets jail time for insider trading scheme/a> on CNET News.