I fed Intel secrets, admits exec in $73m fraud case

NEW YORK - A former Intel executive pleaded guilty yesterday to charges he fed confidential information about the computer-chip maker to wealthy hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, his old friend and central figure in a massive insider trading case.

"I gave Raj Rajaratnam the information because of my friendship with him," Rajiv Goel told a judge in federal court in Manhattan. "I cannot express how sorry I am."

Goel, 51, of Los Altos, California, became the ninth defendant to plead guilty out of 21 charged so far in the case. He faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing on May 28 but could receive far less time because he agreed to co-operate with the investigation as part of a plea deal.

Prosecutors allege Rajaratnam, the Sri Lanka-born portfolio manager for the Galleon Group hedge fund, pocketed up to US$50 million ($73 million) through a network of cheating executives at financial firms and companies privy to inside information. He denies wrongdoing.

Goel, a resident of Los Altos, California, was a director of strategic investments at Intel Capital, the investment arm of Intel, until he left the company last year.

He was arrested in October on conspiracy and securities fraud charges alleging he supplied secrets about Intel's investments to Rajaratnam - talks prosecutors say were caught on wiretaps.

Rajaratnam allegedly made a profit of US$579,000 off the information and paid Goel through a personal brokerage account.

In his plea, Goel said he met Rajaratnam after coming from India to attend the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in the early 1980s.

After the two graduated and Rajaratnam built a hedge fund empire that made him one of the richest men in America, they remained close friends. Goel remains free on US$750,000 bail.

- AP