Alnoor Ebrahim, a former AT&T employee, admitted on Monday that he leaked company secrets to investors, such as sales numbers for Apple"s iPhone, reports Reuters. Ebrahim entered his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud in Manhattan.
Ebrahim"s plea agreement means federal prosecutors will recommend a maximum sentence of two years in prison. "I provided insider information concerning AT&T"s sales of Apple"s iPhone and RIM"s Blackberry products, as well as other handset set devices sold through AT&T distribution channels," Ebrahim told U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken.
The company secrets went to traders who illegally bought shares of companies like Apple based on the leaked information.
Ebrahim is just the latest person to plead guilty in a crackdown on insider trading by the United States government. On Friday, former Goldman Sachs Group board member Rajat Gupta was convicted, one of the U.S. government"s biggest targets, according to Reuters.
Representatives of AT&T were quick to distance the company from Ebrahim"s actions. "We took this matter very seriously and cooperated fully with the authorities," said AT&T spokesman Marty Richtman. "The conduct alleged was clearly against our code of business conduct, and Mr. Ebrahim is no longer an AT&T employee."
Source: Reuters