Four new arrests were made Thursday as the Securities and Exchange Commission and other U.S. government agencies continue to crack down on “channel checks” and other related practices. The defendants – identified as Walter Shimoon (VP of Business Development at Flextronics), Mark Longoria (supply chain manager at AMD), Manosha Karunatilaka (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd) and James Fleishman (sales manager at an “expert networking” firm) — have been charged with various crimes surrounding alleged insider trading. Court filings indicate that Shimoon, Longoria and Karunatilaka were hired as consultants by Fleishman’s expert networking firm. The men allegedly passed along corporate secrets about Apple, AMD and other companies to two unnamed hedge funds. Court filings also indicate that Shimoon was paid to leak non-public details surrounding the iPhone 4 and iPad ahead of Apple’s public announcements.
“Today’s charges allege that a corrupt network of insiders at some of the world’s leading technology companies served as so-called ‘consultants’ who sold out their employers by stealing and then peddling their valuable inside information,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. “Over the next many months and beyond, we will continue to enforce the law, police the market, and protect honest businesses and their shareholders by working methodically with the FBI and SEC to root out corporate corruption and insider trading.”
