The government's chalked up another victory in its investigation into expert networks, as a former tech company executive pleaded guilty to insider trading.   Mark Anthony Longoria, a supply chain manager at Advanced Micro Devices, who was charged late last
year with sharing confidential information about the company’s financial results, agreed to plead guilty to 2 counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, 1 count of securities fraud and 1 count of making false statements.  The guilty plea was announced by the United States Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.

Mr. Longoria was a consultant for the expert network firm Primary Global Research, which arranged meetings between investors and industry experts.  The government has cracked down on these consulting firms, alleging that some have crossed the line by facilitating the passing of nonpublic information between company executives and hedge funds.  The plea is the 11th in the government’s expert network investigation, and it comes one month after the trial of Winifred Jiau, a technology consultant for Primary Global who was found guilty of swapping illegal tips for money.  Primary Global paid Mr. Longoria more than $200,000 for his consultations with clients from January of 2008 to March 2010, according to the criminal complaint filed.  He was accused of passing tips about AMD’s revenue and profit margins.   [DealBook, 6/30/11]